Minestrone Soup (tastes like Olive Garden's)

*Flavorful, delicious, and not difficult. Also, it's a flexible recipe as you can see by the changes I made based on what I did or didn't have on hand when I made this *I got this recipe from my sister-in-law 

In pot, heat:

2 T Olive Oil

Add and saute:

1 Med. Onion (or equivalent Dried Onion, whatever you have)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder, whatever you have)

2 carrots, sliced thinly

2 stalks celery (I didn't have these and it turned out great)

Add:

2 cans Diced Tomatoes - Italian Recipe (or just regular diced tomatoes w/ Italian Seasoning added)

2 cans chicken broth (14 1/2 oz.)

2 t. dried parsley (or 1 T. fresh)

2 t. diced basil

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. salt

pepper

Bring all to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes.

Add:

2 cans kidney beans, drained (15 oz.)

2 c. shredded cabbage (optional - I didn't have this either)

Simmer 10 min.

Stir in:

1 med. sized zucchini sliced (again, I didn't add this)

1/2. c. uncooked elbow macaroni

Cook 10 min.

Serve topped with Parmesan Cheese OR shredded Pecorino Romano cheese (Kirtland brand at Costco in the deli/refrigerated section at the back - Jillyn recommended that I have this cheese on hand because it's delicious added to almost anything like soups, salads, pasta, hot veggies, toasted on bread, etc - it's really similar to fresh parmesan they grate onto your food at Italian Restaurants.)