Hearty Italian Soup

This is something I threw together one winters day. It turned out very good if I do say so myself! I used what I had on hand, for instance, the bow tie pasta because I didn't have the smaller macaroni. I'm guessing at the spice amounts because I didn't actually measure...use your own personal preference. I made a loaf of Italian Herb Bread in the bread machine and we had an easy yet hearty meal. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 6 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef
• 1  lb ground sausage
• 1 1⁄2 cups celery, sliced
• 1  tablespoon garlic, crushed (I use Christopher Ranch Brand)
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 (14 1/2ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 26  ounces  tomato and basil pasta sauce (or your preference)
• 2 (15 ounce) cans beef broth or 2 (15 ounce) cans vegetable broth
• 1 (29 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
• 1  cup carrot, shredded
• 8  ounces bow tie pasta, cooked
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1  teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 2  teaspoons red bell pepper flakes

Directions

1. In frying pan, brown ground beef and pork sausage.
2. While in the process of browning meat, stir all other ingredients into the crock pot EXCEPT pasta.
3. After browning meat, drain and add to crock pot.
4. Cover and cook on high for about two hours until simmering well.
5. Turn heat to low and let cook for another 3-4 hours.
6. Approx 30 minutes before serving, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and add to crock pot.
7. NOTE: If you don't have shredded carrots, you can use the frozen crinkles -- just cut into little slivers and add to crock pot about the same time as adding the cooked pasta. Also, play around with the spices according to your personal taste. If at any time you think you need to add liquid for this to be "more soupy", just add another can of broth. As I said, this was a total experiment and I think I just got lucky on the first time around.