Beef & Bean Minestrone
Ingredients
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 ozs Grass Fed Ground Beef
1 Yellow Onion (medium, finely chopped)
2 Carrot (medium, chopped)
2 stalks Celery (finely chopped)
4 Garlic (cloves, minced)
1 1/3 tbsps Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 cup Tomato Paste
4 cups Beef Broth
3 1/2 cups Diced Tomatoes (from the can)
2 cups Mixed Beans (cooked)
1 Bay Leaf
1 Zucchini (medium, chopped)
2 cups Baby Spinach
Directions
To Cook FRESH on the stove: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add ground beef to the pot. With a wooden spoon or spatula, break the beef into small pieces as it cooks. Stir until it is cooked through and no longer pink.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning and salt. Cook until onions are just translucent, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to incorporate.
Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, mixed beans and bay leaf. Stir to incorporate then bring soup to a gentle boil.
Stir in the zucchini and the spinach. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 40 minutes until vegetables are very tender and soup has reduced slightly. Remove the bay leaf. Enjoy!
To Prepare as a FREEZER MEAL: Place all ingredients in a gallon sized freezer bag minus the broth. Make sure all of the air is squeezed out before sealing. To Cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before to thaw. Dump the contents plus the broth into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the bay leaf before serving. You could wait until the last hour to put the spinach in the slow cooker but not absolutely necessary.
Notes
No Ground Beef. Use ground turkey or ground chicken instead.
More Carbs. Stir in cooked potatoes, pasta or noodles before serving.
Likes it Cheesey. Sprinkle with parmesan or nutritional yeast.
Vegan. Replace beef with chickpeas along with mixed beans and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth
