Pasta Fagioli

I have a couple of easy meals that I keep as "go to" meals when I either (1) haven't planned something else to make, or (2) don't feel like going through a more complicated prep for dinner. One of those meals is Pasta Fagioli. It's warming, it's filling, it's tasty and best of all, it's super easy!

Here are the ingredients:
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Great Northern beans
1/2 cup Ditalini pasta
1 teaspoon basil
dash of paprika and cayenne pepper



Put a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in your soup pot and throw in the diced carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes to soften your veggies.



Add your can of tomatoes...



and two cans of water as well....



so it looks like this.



Now we're going to add in our basil (and what's with my wrinkly hand??)...



Cayenne and paprika (in case you didn't know, the raised pointer finger while sprinkling spices is the equivalent of raising your pinky while drinking tea. It makes you look more sophisticated)...



and simmer for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes are up, add your drained and rinsed beans (I happened to just drain and rinse them in own can because I'm a freak about making the fewest amount of dishes possible).



Now, bring your soup up to a boil and add in a 1/2 cup of Ditalini pasta. Once your pasta is in, reduce the heat to medium and cook an additional 15 minutes.



Once your soup is done, add some salt and pepper and dish it up. I like to add grated parm.



Oh and that pasty white and veiny hand does not belong to my Greek self. That's the Irishman, who was hovering the entire time that dinner was cooking because he was starving and the smell was luring him into the kitchen. Here's our finished product.



This soup only makes about 4 big servings in our house, so if you have a bigger family, go ahead and double the recipe. Enjoy!