Soup Recipe

I've had a cold so I felt like making soup last night for dinner. I remember my friend making minestrone and thought I'd try it. I found a few recipes online and pulled what I had and made my own. My family loved it so I'm sharing the recipe (mostly so I don't forget).

Minestrone

1 lb. bacon
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cups carrots chopped
2 small zucchini chopped
2 handfuls spinach leaves, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can white northern beans
1 cup penne pasta

Cook the bacon in a stockpot, then drain the grease. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Then add the carrots, zucchini, spinach, and cans of tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, chicken broth and beans. Let it simmer for about 30 min. Add the pasta and cook until softened (I actually cooked the pasta separately, then decided to add it to the soup anyways.)

It smelled wonderful and tasted great too! We added mozzarella cheese on top and it was yummy. I loved that I picked the zucchini and spinach straight from my garden and then just used the other veggies that I had on hand. I plan on making this again. We had enough that we're having leftovers for dinner tonight and I might even make some crusty bread to eat with it.