"blond" Minestrone

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 tsp. fresh basi)
• 4 -6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups yellow squash, thinly-sliced
• 3 cups zucchini, thin-sliced
• 1 cup carrot, thin-sliced
• 1 cup fresh corn (about 2 ears (or 1 can)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup ditalini
• 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach, fresh
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper (to taste)
• 8 teaspoons pesto sauce, prepared

Recipe

• 1 chop onions.
• 2 heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. add onion to pan and saute until softened - about 3-5 minutes.
• 3 add oregano, basil and garlic, saute about 1 minute. stir in squash, zucchini, carrot and corn. saute until veggies are tender -- about 5 minutes.
• 4 stir in broth (i use 1 teaspoons of "better than boullion" to a cup of water.) bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes.
• 5 add pasta and beans to pan. cook about 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. remove from heat; stir in spinach, add salt and pepper to taste.
• 6 ladle into bowls; top with a dollop of pesto; garnish with freshly ground black pepper.
• 7 if you must have tomatoes -- add 3 cups tomato to 2 of the 6 cups of broth, process in blender/food processor until smooth. add an additional cup of chopped tomatoes to the soup.