Bean and Macaroni Soup

Dancer^'s Note:

This cholesterol-free tasty dish is virtually fat free and is prepared with only 1 tbsp. of oil. You can eat the whole pot. I have a trick after reading the reviews about the pasta soaking up the liquid. Cook the pasta seperate and drain put in a bowl next to the soup for serving. Put 2 or three good size spoonfuls in bottom of bowl then ladle the soup over it. Thats how i do it with pasta and rice soups.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 16

• 2 (16 ounce) cans great northern beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups carrots, sliced
• 1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups cut-up peeled fresh tomatoes or 1 1/2 lbs canned whole tomatoes, cut up
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 4 cups cooked elbow macaroni

Directions:

1. Drain beans and reserve liquid, rinse beans.
2. Heat oil in a 6-quart kettle; add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, sage, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf.
4. Cover and cook over medium heat 20 minutes.
5. Cook macaroni according to directions on package using unsalted water.
6. Drain when cooked.
7. Do not overcook.
8. Combine reserved bean liquid with water to make 4 cups.
9. Add liquid, beans, and cooked macaroni to vegetable mixture.
10. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer until soup is throughly heated.
11. Stir occasionally.

Reviews

[Wendy G]

This was very good. Throw in any extra veggies you have around...I added zucchini. Excellent low fat, low cal, AND low salt soup. Thanks for posting!

[Tweeky]

Dancer, this is a wonderful soup! I didn't make it for any diety reasons, just 'cause it sounded good and it surely was. I did use 2 cloves of garlic. I used can tomatoes and used the juice from them with the bean juice before adding the water to make 4 cups, just to add the extra flavor. I also added 2 Tbls. of red wine vinegar once the soup was heated through. For pasta, I used a variety of elbows, small shells and ditalini just to give it a little change up and flair. I also threw in some diced left over cooked kielbasa that I had in the refrigerator. When I reheated the left-overs the next day, I added some canned diced tomatoes with their liquid and it was wonderful. It put just the right amount of liquid back into the soup since so much had been absorbed by the pasta. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe to add to my soup collection. It's very similar to a Quick Pasta Fagioli recipe that I will be posting soon, check it out! Again thanks Dancer. Tweeky/a.k.a. Judi

[PixieDust]

A very delicious and healthy soup. I did not vary from the recipe at all and the flavor was not in the least bit bland. I chose to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned. I did have to add tomato juice to the soup the next day because as others have said, the liquid disappeared thanks to the noodles. Thanks Dancer^ for a delicious healthy soup recipe.