Meaty Minestrone Soup

Coconut Layer Cake Murder

(A 5-Quart or 6-Quart crockpot Recipe)

## Ingredients

**Hannah's 1st Note: If you want to make this into a vegetable soup, simply leave out the meat and use vegetable stock instead of beef stock.**

* 1 cup chopped onions ***(2 small or 1 large)***
* 1 cup chopped celery ***(about 5 stalks)***
* 3 or 4 uncooked Italian sausages ***(I used the mild Italian sausages—if you like things spicy, feel free to use spicy Italian sausages)***
* 1 medium-size yellow summer squash, chopped ***(no need to peel)***
* 1 small to medium zucchini, chopped ***(no need to peel)***
* 1 cup peeled carrot slices, chopped ***(I used frozen crinkle-cut slices, thawed, and chopped)***
* 2-inch square Parmesan cheese
* 1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic ***(jarred garlic is fine)***
* 2 cans ***(14.5 ounces each)*** beef broth ***(I used Swanson)***
* 24-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce ***(I used Prego with beef)***
* 1 cup water ***(to swish around in the sauce jar and then add to the crock)***
* 2 cans ***(6.5 ounces each)*** of sliced mushrooms ***(stems and pieces are okay)***
* 1 cup dry, uncooked corkscrew pasta ***(or any other small dried pasta)***
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top when serving

**Hannah's 2nd Note: These are optional depending on how full your crock is and whether you have unexpected company and need to stretch the soup.**

* 1 cup cut green beans ***(I used frozen and let them thaw before I added them)***
* 15-ounce can white beans, drained
* 1 cup tomato juice
* 1 beef bouillon cube mixed with 1 cup water

## Directions

* Spray the inside of a slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. ***This will make it much easier when you wash it!***
* Peel and chop the onions into small pieces. Add them to the bottom of the crock. They will form part of the juice.
* Wash and chop the celery into small pieces. Add them on top of the chopped onions.
* Cut the Italian sausages into bite-size pieces. Add those to the crock on top of the celery.
* Wash the yellow summer squash, cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut it in bite-size pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the Italian sausages.
* Wash the zucchini, cut it in half lengthwise, and cut it into bite-size pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the yellow squash.
* Place the carrot slices on a paper plate. Let them thaw a bit (if frozen) and then chop them into bite-size pieces.
* Cut a 2-inch square of Parmesan cheese (or the equivalent) from a wedge of Parmesan cheese. Put it in the crock on top of the carrots.
* Measure the minced garlic and add that to the crock on top of the Parmesan cheese.
* With your impeccably clean fingers, toss the contents of the crock together mixing it up by hand.
* Open the cans of beef bouillon and pour it over the vegetable and sausage mixture in the slow cooker.
* Open the jar of spaghetti sauce and pour that over the top. ***There will be spaghetti sauce clinging to the bottom and the sides of the jar, but don't worry. We will take care of that next.***
* Measure out one cup of water. Add it to the spaghetti sauce jar, put on the lid, and swish it around to get the clinging spaghetti sauce off the bottom and sides of the jar. Pour the contents of the jar on top of the mixture in the slow cooker.
* Open the cans of sliced mushroom sand add them, juice and all, to the contents of the slow cooker.
* Stir the contents of the crock with a spoon until everything is well mixed, put on the lid, then plug in the slow cooker and set it on LOW.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: Be careful when setting the temperature on your slow cooker. I once failed to look and simply turned the dial one click, assuming that it was on LOW. When I came home, I discovered that the slow cooker was on WARM, not LOW. Now I check it twice to be sure I've selected the correct cooking temperature.**

* Cook your Meaty Minestrone Soup for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender. Give it a stir with a spoon and then add the uncooked pasta.
* If you have room in the crock and you want to add any of the additional ingredients, do so now.
* Stir to make sure everything is incorporated, replace the lid, and cook on LOW for another hour.
* Your soup should be ready to serve in 60 minutes, but it can hold for two additional hours, or even longer if need be.
* Before you serve, check the seasonings. If your soup needs salt or pepper, add it then.
* To serve, ladle the Meaty Minestrone Soup into soup bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. If you add a small green salad and some crusty Italian bread or garlic bread, you will have an entire meal.