Garden Fresh Vegetable Soup

I like this recipe because it's so flexible. It's terrific for people who grow their own vegetables or for people (like me) who love shopping at farmer's markets. This can be vegetarian by leaving out the ground beef and bacon and substituting vegetable broth for the beef broth. This is a nutritious, economical recipe that is easy to multiply for a crowd. Adapted from a Sunset recipe.

• Ready In: 1 hr 55 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb lean ground beef (optional)
• 4  slices bacon, diced (optional)
• 3  tablespoons butter (optional)
• 1  large onion, diced
• 2  cloves garlic, minced (or more)
• 6  cups  assorted fresh vegetables (it gets fun here, suggestions are diced carrots and celery, sliced 3/4-inch green beans, diced baby)
• 8  cups beef broth (use vegetable broth if keeping this vegetarian)
• 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dry basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2  large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2⁄3 cup elbow macaroni or 2⁄3 cup spaghetti, broken into pieces (I use odds and ends of pasta at this point)
• 2  cups  shredded cabbage or 2  cups spinach (what I use) or 2  cups swiss chard
•  salt and pepper
•  grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Crumble beef, if desired, into a 5-6 quart pot over medium heat; add bacon, if desired.
2. If not using meat, melt butter in the pot.
3. Add onion, garlic and prepared vegetables and cook, stirring, until meat is browned and onion is soft; drain any excess fat.
4. Add broth, kidney beans, basil, oregano and rosemary; bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat, simmer for about 30 minutes.
5. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, and macaroni; continue cooking, covered, until macaroni is tender.
6. At this point you can cool the soup, cover it and refrigerate it to reheat and continue the recipe.
7. Add cabbage and cook, covered, just until cabbage wilts, about 5 minutes.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve and pass cheese to sprinkle over individual servings.