Minestrone Soup

5 links (20 oz) of Italian sausage - I like hot
64 oz - Chicken broth (2 large boxes)
1 cup - chopped Onion
Celery to suit you (3-4 stalks)
Carrots to suit you ( 1 carrot shredded)
2 - large bell peppers (any color)
1 - 6 oz can Tomato paste
1 - 14 or 15 oz Can of tomatoes in juice
1 - can Kidney beans (15 oz or so)
1 - can cut green beans
2 cups cubed Zucchini or yellow squash
Garlic to taste
Italian seasoning or fresh basil and parsley
Thyme


Cook any small pasta separately and mix it as you serve it. Each cup of pasta is about 105 calories.
add Parmesan cheese to taste. Each tablespoon of Parmesan cheese is 21 calories.

Cook the sausage , drain and set aside
Sauté onion in butter/olive oil and garlic
add celery and cook until almost soft,
add carrots and continue to sauté,
add peppers and cook until vegetables are soft.
Add vegetables, tomato paste, tomatoes, sausage, chicken broth, seasonings, beans and cook everything for maybe 1 hour.  Taste and add more seasoning or tomato paste to taste.

Serve:  put pasta in a soup bowl and add soup to it, top with Parmesan cheese.  ENJOY!

Ps:  this recipe is only the cooking steps,  any veges you like work.  I like to caramelize the onions for extra flavor.  Shredding the carrots is best.

Crock pot directions:
Add 1 box of broth and the other canned ingredients to the crock pot.
Add cooked sausage, sauteed vegetables and seasoning
Add additional broth to fill the crock pot. Ours will not hold everything if you put all the broth in.
Cook on high 1-2 hours
Switch to low for 3 or more hours
Adjust cooking time as needed

This recipe is in the LoseIt App
If you use 1.5 cups per serving, there is 178 calories per serving with no pasta or cheese.