Vegetarian Italian Bean Soup

Ingredients
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 small potato, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cans (14.5oz each) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can (15oz) white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5oz) Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained
¼ c minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp prepared pesto
¼ c uncooked orzo pasta
1 c fresh baby spinach
¼ c grated Romano cheese

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, potato, celery and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, parsley and pesto. Bring to a boil.
2. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender.
3. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.
This was an easy and tasty meal for the family. It goes great with some garlic bread on the side and some crushed crackers stirred in. I omitted the pesto because I’m not much of a fan, and I didn’t think the kids would eat it. Maybe you wouldn’t even really be able to taste it though?