Hearty Minestrone soup

This soup is loaded with great flavor of the seasonings and is rich and savory from all the vegetables cooked slowly releasing all their nutrients over the period of time. This recipe allows you to add any number of vegetables of your choice. My 3yr old daughter slurped it all and still wanted more. I really didn’t think she would eat this soup especially with all the veggies! My husband loved it too and has asked me to make a couple of times since then. Absolutely a great family meal for any time and season.

Source of the recipe: Robin Miller, Foodnetwork.com
I have made some changes to the recipe according to my taste.
If you don't have a slow cooker, any pot can be used over the stove top but care should be taken to stir the soup occasionally so as not to burn it.

Preparation and cooking time: 15minutes + 4 hrs

Ingredients:Bottom of Form

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 
• 1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained 
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 
• 1 celery stalk, chopped 
• 1 cup onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mixture 
• 1 bay leaf
• Saltand ground black pepper 
• 2 cups cooked pasta (any shape that you like)
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped 
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted 
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• Oil 

Method:

• Sauté onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a pan with oil for about 5-10 minutes. In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, sautéed carrots, celery, garlic, onion, dried herbs, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
• Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add the pasta, zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top.