This One Time I Made Soup.....

Who am I kidding, I love soup. I make it and eat it all the time.

This past weekend I made a huge pot of Minestrone Soup in my slow cooker with a few twists. I've been feasting on it ever since.


Here's the run down:


Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

1- Yellow Onion, Chopped
2- Carrots, Peeled and Chopped (If you're a baby carrot eater like me, 1/2 cup of chopped carrots equal approximately 1 carrot)
3-Celery Stalks, Chopped (I chopped these semi finely, as I'm not a huge fan of celery chunks)
1- Sweet Potato- Peeled and Chopped
3- Cloves of Garlic, Minced Finely
1/2 Tablespoon- Garlic and Herb Seasoning- I prefer Mrs. Dash
A Couple of Dashes of Poultry Seasoning
6- Cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Cup- Dry Quinoa (Rinsed)
1 Ounce-Cheese Rind Such as Parmesan (I used a Gouda rind, it was delicious)
2- Cans of Diced Tomatoes (I have used fire roasted and oregano and garlic- both are awesome)
1- Can of Pinto Beans- Rinsed and Drained
1- Can of Cannellini Beans- Rinsed and Drained
2- Cup Fresh Green Beans Trimmed and Chopped into Bite Sized Pieces (you be the judge of how big your bite is)
Salt and Pepper as needed
Red Pepper Flakes would have made a nice contribution to the soup. Unfortunately, I didn't use it because Mr. Berg doesn't do spicy.


Throw everything except the quinoa in the crock pot and set the crock pot for 4 Hours on High or 8 Hours Low.
Add the quinoa during the last 30 minutes of cooking and stir to incorporate. The quinoa will be done when it looks as though it was popped open. 

If you wanted to you could saute the garlic, onions, carrots and celery in olive oil or butter until soft before adding it to the crock pot to develop the flavors. I didn't have that kind of time this past weekend. The soup still turned out amazing.

Serve with fresh, grated parmesan for topping. Bread would be awesome for dipping. Salad is always nice too!


This makes 8-10 serving depending on how big a bowl you are using.

Enjoy!