Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
6 oz. can tomato paste
14 1/2 oz can chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
24 oz can pinto beans, undrained
10 oz pkg frozen green beans
2-3 c chopped cabbage
1 medium zucchini, sliced
8 c. water
2 T parsley
2 T Italian spice
1 t. salt, or more
1/2 t. pepper
3/4 c. dry small round pasta
grated Parmesan

Instructions:
1. Saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil until tender
2. Combine all ingredients except pasta and cheese in slow cooker
3. Cover. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low, adding pasta 1 hour before cooking is complete.
4. Top individual servings with cheese.

Source:
Fix it & Forget it

Notes:
This recipe is HUGE but yummy. I actually only put in about 5 cups of water because I couldn't fit any more in my crockpot. So unless you are cooking for 10 people or want a lot of leftovers to freeze & refrigerate, I recommend halving the recipe. I also put in only 3/4 onion because that was still plenty, and I only used about 1 t. parsley because I used dry parsley instead of fresh.