Wednesday Scoop 'O Soup

Welcome to my favorite "Tried&True" soup recipe!
Veggie Minestrone

This is one of those recipes that is so familiar I can shop for it and prepare it from memory.....but I remember when it was new to me.

I remember googling soup recipes that day. 
I was sitting in a brand new kitchen, in a newly built house. It was my home, but I was 707 miles from anything I'd ever known.
My husband (of only 5 months) had just driven away to his first day in a new office, and I was gearing up to go buy groceries to stock our bare fridge and cupboards.  We had just moved from our born-and-raised hometown of Racine, WI. to NorthWest Arkansas so that Steve could fulfill a 2 year rotation in his job with SCJ.

My eyes landed on this recipe. It sounded good. 
I added the ingredients to my list, and off I went, with map in hand, and directions to what I thought was the nearest market.  Later, I would learn that in my 18 mile drive, I had passed 3 other markets that would have been much nearer to our new house. =)

Those were hard and very, very good days!  Steve and I had only each other, and we loved it!!! God was so faithful - sovereignly caring for even the littlest details - like leading me to a soup recipe that would become a family favorite for years to come!

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
4 cups tomato juice
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
2 medium celery stalks, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (3 oz)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta (4 1/2 oz)
Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Step 1:
In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese.
Step 2:
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
Step 3:Stir in pasta. Increase heat setting to High; cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.
Note: I prefer to cook the pasta while I'm preparing the soup, immediately rinsing in cold water and coating with a small amount of Olive Oil....then adding into the soup for the last 5-10 min to heat through.  This avoids their becoming too soft!