Pasta e Fajioli

Two days ago when I made this it was 51 degrees with a brisk, chilly wind and was a good day for a thick, hearty soup. Today, (two days later…), it’s 86 degrees with high humidity. Ugh! Yes, this is Ohio where the saying is, “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes.”

If you’re like me and like soup anytime, this is like Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fajioli. It’s great paired with warm crusty bread or corn bread. Thanks for Pinterest for the recipe which was linked to this blog.

P.S.- Her recipe is for the crock pot, mine is for the stove top. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. – mild sausage, casing removed, browned

1/2 lb. – lean, organic ground beef, browned. (Note: I didn’t have to drain my skillet because my meats were lean. If there is a lot of grease in the bottom of the skillet, then drain before adding to the rest of the ingredients.)

1- green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small pieces

1 – 15 ounce can- kidney beans

1- 15 ounce can- white beans

1- small can- corn, with juice

1- 15 ounce- can stewed tomatoes

1 can- heart healthy tomato soup with 1 can full of water

1 teaspoon- garlic powder

1 teaspoon- celery salt

1 teaspoon- basil

1 teaspoon- oregano

1 teaspoon- thyme

1 Tablespoon- Worcestershire sauce

1/2 box of small shells, dried pasta

Directions: 

Boil a pot of water for your noodles and prepare according to box instructions. (Boil noodles aldente so any re-warming of leftovers won’t result in mushy pasta.)

Brown your meats in a skillet and drain if needed.

Transfer meat to large soup stock pot when done cooking, add all other ingredients (except noodles)

(Drain and rinse both types beans with water and leave liquid in your corn.)

Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer. At this point it’s done and you can add your pasta or keep it on the side to cover with the soup.

I like extra noodles so I made a half a box, putting some in the “soup” and left some out to just add on top. You do what you want. Texture can be like soup if extra liquid is added or a thick stew or chili. You make it your own and can add more or less spices and/or vegetables to your liking. This makes one full soup stock pot. There’s two of us and we have leftovers.

My tip: Re-warm any leftovers with V8 juice. Voila! 😉