Minestrone Soup#2 (Diabetic)

Ingredients 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 cup onions -- chopped

1 cup celery -- chopped

1 cup green pepper -- chopped

1 cup zucchini -- sliced

1 cup cabbage -- shredded

1 cup potato -- diced

4 cups tomatoes, canned

6 cups water

1 can beef broth -- condensed

salt -- to taste, optional 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon basil -- or to taste

2 each bay leaf

2 cups red kidney beans -- well drained

1/2 cup elbow macaroni

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated, optional

Directions:

Brush a 5-quart heavy Dutch oven with olive oil. Add meat, stir to break apart and cook until browned, drain off fat, and rinsed under hot water, return to Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, green pepper zucchini, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, water, beef broth, salt, Worchester sauce, pepper, basil, and bay leaves. Stir well. Bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 1-1-1/4 hours, stir once in a while. Add kidney beans and macaroni and cook another 30 minutes then ladle into warmed soup bowls and sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese.

This is a Tried and True recipes, you may also change the vegetables, we sometimes add green beans in place of zucchini.