This is one of those meals that’s both hearty and nutritious.  If you love to cook, as I do, you’ll enjoy making this for your family.  It’s definitely a full meal and will feed a lot of people.  Serve it with crusty bread and top it with a good amount of grated Parmesan-reggiano cheese!IMG_1894

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 4 oz. diced pancetta
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. dry basil
  • 1 tsp. dry oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. thyme
  • 2 cans 15 oz. each tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 1 can 10 oz. Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
  • 2 -32 oz. chicken broth
  • 1 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz.) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta

Optional:  Parmesan reggiano graded cheese on top when serving, also crusty bread on the side.

Directions:

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, crumble in ground beef and cook, stirring occasional until cooked through.  Drain fat from the beef then transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in the same pot.  Add Pancetta and saute for 2 minutes, add onions, carrots, and celery and saute until tender, around 6 minutes.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Rotel diced tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.  Add set-aside cooked ground beef.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare ditalini pasta according to directions on package, cooking to al dente.

Add cooked and drained pasta to soup* along with kidney beans and great northern beans.  Thin with water or broth if desired.

Allow to cook 1 minute longer.

Serve warm with grated Parmesan Reggiano on top and a side of crusty bread.

*If you do not plan on eating all of the soup right away, I recommend adding the pasta to individual servings.  The pasta gets soggy and absorbs too much broth if left in soup.

Serves 8-10