Olive Garden COPYCAT Pasta e fagioli soup

Here is a recipe from a Reader :) THANKS CHRISTA! It was REALLY yummy! I did improvise a few things because I was trying not to go to the store, but it tasted great to me! I will write in red the differences! Enjoy


* 2 lbs ground beef (1 pound of ground turkey and leftover meatballs :)
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 carrots, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped (I didn't have any celery which made me really sad- I LOVE celery in soup) I chopped green beans and threw them in.
* 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (my kids don't like chunky tomatoes so I used crushed tomatoes)
* 1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
* 1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
* 3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock (I used chicken broth because I was using turkey)
* 1 Tablespoons oregano
* 2 teaspoons pepper
* 5 teaspoons parsley
* 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
* 1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (I used my leftover sauce from my meatballs)
* 8 ounces dry pasta (I used orecchiette the little lamb ear looking pasta)

Directions:

Brown beef (turkey) in a skillet.

Drain fat from beef (turkey) and add to crock pot with everything else except pasta.

Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.

During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.

 Christa suggested bread sticks with this soup. I loved them as much as the soup. I bought these at Costco.

 I drizzled Olive oil all over them and then

 

Miss Laney brushed it all over them. Put kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on them and baked  them until they were warm. YUM!

 

 I served with shredded Parmesan. The pasta does like to soak up the liquid so you may end up adding more broth or water to your bowl. Bellisima!