Make enough pasta fagioli to share

By Suzi Hogan

Mansfield Record

My dear friend and neighbor, Lesa Wagner, made this soup for us once and from then on it has become one of my favorite soup recipes. It requires two big crock pots (it’s hard to half) so borrow a crock pot from a friend and return it full of this delicious soup. I’m certain they’ll either ask for the recipe or offer their crock pot again in exchange for another pot of this yummy soup.

Please don’t just look at the list of ingredients and think it’s too complicated and pass on this recipe.  You can probably even find the onion and celery already chopped at most grocery stores.  It’s really very simple and has a wonderful taste – just right for a cool evening.  It also freezes well.

Lesa’s Pasta Fagioli (Two Crock Pot Version)

2 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, don’t drain

1 (16 oz.) can white kidney beans, drained

1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, drained

3 (10 oz) cans beef stock

3 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons pepper

5 teaspoons parsley

1 teaspoon Tabasco

20 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

8 oz. of small pasta

Brown beef in a skillet and drain the fat off. Divide the beef between two large (6 quart) crock pots and divide and add the remaining ingredients (except the pasta). Cook on low seven to eight hours or on high for four to five hours. During the last 30 minutes if on high or one hour if on low, add pasta.

You may need to add water after adding the pasta. The pasta tends to soak up all the liquid after cooking, but the addition of extra water doesn’t affect the taste. Add black pepper and salt to taste. Enjoy!

Suzi Hogan is a Mansfield resident, wife, mom and Mimi to seven grandchildren. She has written cooking columns for several newspapers. If you have a recipe to share or one to request, please email me at suzi.recipes@yahoo.com.

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