Italian Vegetable Soup

I made this recipe almost two weeks ago.  I planned to post it a few days later, but I completely forgot!  As I was going through my notebook to plan my next video, I remembered this recipe.  I just love to make chop and drop soups.  I don't like to make things too fussy or difficult.  I was originally planning to made my Tortellini Soup, but as I started putting it together I was missing some tomatoes.  I figured that I would just change it up a bit.  The outcome was delicious, so I figured I would keep the recipe.  This can easily be a crock pot meal, too!  I would do the onion, garlic and ground turkey ahead of time.  After that is browned, you can add it and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and cool on low for 6+ hours.  Here it is!

Italian Vegetable Soup

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4-5 mushroom, chopped
1 small package of frozen spinach
1 cup frozen green beans
6 oz tomato sauce
3 cups of beef stock
1 cup of water
2 tbsp prepared pesto
1 tsp oregano
1 cup of whole wheat elbow macaroni
salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add ground turkey and brown it.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the elbow macaroni.  Stir well and cook on a low simmer for 2-3 hours.  You can always cook it longer, if you have time.

About 20 minutes before serving, bring the soup up to a boil.  Add the macaroni and cook it according to the package directions.

Serve and enjoy!  You can add a bit of parmesan cheese, if desired.