Pasta e Fagioli Soup

It has been raining off and on for about a week here in Waco and frankly, I'm sick of it! We don't really have a fall season here in central Texas, but the weather is so nice and cool and usually very sunny. I miss that weather. If I can't have the beautiful foliage that Tennessee in the fall offers, I should at least get to enjoy the sun! What really stinks is that our back yard turns into a pool when it rains constantly, so we have to keep part of the yard blocked off so the dogs don't drag in all kinds of mud. What I am getting at is that even though this weather is stinky, it's perfect weather to make soup! I love, love, love this soup. It's so hearty and delicious. This recipe came from crockpot365.blogspot.com aka the Crockpot Lady's website and it's a crockpot version of Olive Garden's soup. So if you're having a rainy cold weather week drag out your crockpot and make this soup!


--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

The Directions.


Brown the meat and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

(P.S. I copied the ingredient list and directions from the website!)