Vegetable Minestrone

I know that I have no right to complain but it has been a REALLY cold winter in Atlanta!  After the last couple of really mild Georgia winters, I was completely unprepared for the sub 30 degree temperatures.  For this Georgia transplant who is used to our fairly temperate climate - anything below 30 is C - O - L - D.

​The ice storm that hit Atlanta this week was not unexpected but it was remarkable.  I still don't think that I could correctly describe to you the difference between sleet and freezing rain but I can say that I saw a LOT of it on Wednesday night.  When it was all said and done, we had about 5 inches of snow and ice in certain places.

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You can check out my early ice storm pictures on Thursday's blog post.  It was pretty incredible to see the ice wrapped around every single tree branch and leaf.  In true Atlanta fashion though, everything melted pretty quickly.  I took these pictures at 11:00 on Thursday morning.

​And at 3:00 I went out and snapped a few more pictures.   

​As you can see, everything melted pretty quickly around here.  I did enjoy the couple of snow days with Ben and the kids this week though.  We kept ourselves pretty busy and we ate lots of yummy snow day treats.  

I've been making a new batch of soup every 3 or 4 days this winter just to keep a supply in the frig.  My newest soup recipe came from mamamiss.com.  She posted a recipe for Seven Vegetable Minestrone Soup but since I didn't add ALL seven veggies, I renamed it Vegetable Minestrone.  

Vegetable Minestrone Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 medium yellow squash, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 - 15.25 oz. can whole kernel sweet white corn, drained
3 - 14 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth, divided
1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
1 - 15.5 oz. can Great Northern beans, rinsed & drained
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. (1 cup) grated Asiago cheese

​Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes, until softened, stirring frequently. 

Add oregano and garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot, and corn; sauté 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. 

​While the vegetables are cooking add 2 cans of broth; bring to a boil. reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. 

​Add pasta and beans to pot; cook 10 minutes until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. 

Remove from heat. Stir in salt, and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top each bowl with 2 tablespoons of cheese.

​For those of you struggling to stay warm this winter - give this hearty Vegetable Minestrone a try.  It is tasty AND warm. 

Ciao! 

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