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!

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