Minestrone Soup

This was a great day for homemade soup. I found a recipe from Ellie Krieger that I have been wanting to try for Minestrone Soup. I did add some extra vegetables to the original recipe. It turned out great. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup
Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 30 min Level:
Easy Serves:
6 servings Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
I also added 1 bulb of sliced fennel, 1/2 cup homemade pesto, 1 leek thinly sliced and 1 cup roasted butternut squash.
Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

Happy Birthday Anna

My baby girl just celebrated her 9th birthday on New Years Eve. I can't believe that she is almost in the double digits. It really does just feel like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. She had a good birthday celebrating and then had her big party the following weekend at a gymnastics center. One of her presents was a gift certificate to Lot 26 Anna had so much fun picking out decals for her room. I love the owls that she chose. They are adorable and reusable. I am loving groupon and all of the great deals you can get there. 

Salted Caramel Sauce

I love salted caramels. I first tried it a few years ago and the combination is amazing. I found this recipe for homemade caramel sauce and tweaked it a little by adding some sea salt at the end of the cooking process. It is spoon licking yummy. It would be great on ice-cream or just out of the jar! Hope you enjoy.
Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 ts vanilla
1 ts sea salt
melt sugar in heavy bottom pan until dissolved. Watch because it will burn. Add butter and let it melt before adding cream. It freezes up once the cold cream is added and you have to remelt it. Stir continuously with wooden spoon and smooth. It takes a few minutes to come together. Add vanilla and salt off heat. Allow to cool before placing in jars.
I can't get my camera to download pictures right now. Not sure what is going on but that is why the last few posts haven't had pictures attached....