Pasta e Fagioli

I don't know why I didn't make this sooner! I think I may have been a little intimidated by the name of the dish and never even looked at the ingredients or what it actually is. Sounds kinda stupid now that I think about it. Anyways, I made it and it's really good. The girl I got the recipe from said that it made a lot and she is RIGHT! This made so much that I decided not to make dinner tonight to make sure that we don't waste any leftovers. If you want to make this and freeze it, don't add the pasta to the soup itself. Make it on its own and add it each time you want to eat it. I realized that after I made all of it, but that's ok...we can deal with some leftovers!

Pasta e Fagioli (copy cat Olive Garden)
Adapted from ...and a cookie for dessert

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced (I omitted because I didn't realize my onions had gone bad!)
1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped
5 stalks of celery, diced (I omitted)
2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)
3/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni) (I used rotini because I had about this much left over)
salt to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef in oil. Drain if necessary.
Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, Tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.
Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.
Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.Pin It