Pasta Fagioli

Thanks again to Pinterest for allowing me to find this wonderful recipe on Our Blissfully Domestic Life blog!  Pasta Fagioli is an Italian soup/stew and it is oh so tasty!  I know it is summer, but it has been cool this week so I decided to give it a try.  The nice part was that I now have two containers of leftovers in my freezer for the next time I want something in a flash!

Shopping List:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped

2 medium Carrots, chopped

2 stalks of Celery, chopped

2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced

1- 28 oz can of Tomatoes

1- 8 oz can Tomato Sauce

1- 15 oz can Cannelloni Beans, drained 

4 cups Beef Broth

1 & 1/2 cup Elbow Pasta

2 cups of Fresh Spinach (packed)

1 Beef Bouillon Cube (or the equivalent in Granules)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

4-5 dashed of Hot Sauce (Texas Pete or Tabasco)

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (for topping)

 

Directions:

-Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until meat is no longer pink and veggies are starting to get tender. Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth(i used bouillon cubes to make my broth), bouillon cube, garlic, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Stir well and turn the heat to low.  Cover.

-Let the soup simmer for as long as you can. (I let mine go for about 2 hours, but this can be as fast a 30 minutes.) Stir occasionally.

-After the tomato sauce has simmered, add the beans and keep on low/covered for 1 more hour (or long enough to heat through if you are in quick mode).

-When you are ready to eat, cook the pasta according to directions in a separate pot.  Add the spinach into the tomato mixture and stir. Add in the hot sauce as well. This does not make it spicy, just a little background flavor!

-When the pasta is finished and drained, you can add it straight to the soup or serve it on the side to be dished into individual soup bowls.  We did ours on the side so the pasta wouldn't get mushy when we froze the leftovers. Top each serving with fresh Parmesan cheese (or the shaker kind if that's all you have on hand) :(

The finished stew



Everything ready to be eaten!



It was a little time consuming, but as I mentioned you can do this in as little as an hour if you choose.  It was a fantastic meal and I can't wait to dig into the leftovers in a few weeks!

Happy Eating!

Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite meals!  It is just great comfort food.  Taste of Home had this simple recipe for a cheesy biscuit-topped pie and I fell in love.

Ingredients:

 Shopping List:
4 cups chicken, cooked, cubed
10 oz. package frozen broccoli with cheese sauce, thawed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can potatoes, drained
3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup frozen peas ( i used mixed veggies)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Topping:
1 biscuit mix package
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Water (amount suggested on package)

Directions:
-In a large pan, combine the first 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Transfer to a greased 9x13 in baking dish.
-In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients; spoon over the top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and topping is golden brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Into the Oven

All Done!

My giant piece!

If you noticed, I used an 8x8 instead of a larger pan.  We would have to feed an army if we made an entire pan, so I just halved the ingredients and used a smaller pan.  I did not halve the ingredients for the topping.  I like lots of biscuit with my pot pie so I just used the regular amount!

Let me know what you think!

Happy Eating!