I Made it Monday: Crockpot Pasta Fagioli

So, I tried 2 great new recipes this week so it was difficult to decide which one to share this week. I would have done both, but I start a new job on Monday and I don't know how often I will be trying new recipes for a while so I have to spread out what I have! :O)

I got this recipe from A Year of Crockpotting and the recipe is based on Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli. Now, I LOVE the soup, salad, bread stick deal at Olive Garden and the Pasta Fagioli is undoubtedly my favorite of the soups. So, when I saw this recipe you can guess I might be a little skeptical - especially since the creator of the idea hadn't even tried the Olive Garden version.

There was a little bit of preparation, but once everything was in the crockpot I was free as a bird until I added the noodles the last 40 or so minutes. I was NOT disappointed in the least bit. I tried it and couldn't tell if it was like the Olive Garden version, but I loved it. It tasted so good that Dan and I could hardly wait to let it cool down to eat!

This will definitely become a family favorite. We had so much we were able to freeze a bag of it for a rainy day that I don't feel much like cooking! Yeah for that!

Crockpot Pasta Fagioli
1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced ( I think I did 3)
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (with the juice)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbs Tabasco sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot sauce because that is what we keep)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at the end of the cooking time (the last 40 or so minutes) - I actually ended up using 1 cup of whole wheat Rotini and was glad I did. It would have been fine with only 1/2 a cup, but we like a full soup.
Parmesian cheese to taste for topping (optional)

-Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot or cut the recipe in half. It makes a lot
-Brown the meat on the stove top, drain well, then cool a bit. (I started making the beef broth as the meat was finishing up and cooling)
-Chop up carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
-Drain and rinse the beans, and add to crockpot. Also add the whole cans of tomatoes, the pasta sauce, add the beef broth, the salt and pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir in your meat.
-Cover and cook on
~ Low 8 hours
~ High 4 hrs
- When the vegetables are tender stir in the dry pasta
- Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit. (on high it took just over 30 minutes).
- Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

You'll LOVE IT!!!