Guest Author - Jill Valente

Vegetable Minestrone Soup
This minestrone is packed with vegetables and is great to use when you are cleaning out your fridge. Feel free to throw in just about anything…spinach, green beans, fresh tomatoes (when in season), swiss chard, yellow squash, green bell peppers, it all works in this versatile soup. I like to serve it with a dollop of pesto and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Delicious!

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, quartered
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 14˝ oz can diced tomatoes with seasonings
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 6 cups reduced fat low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 baking potato, chopped
• 1 cup kale, chopped
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh rosemary
• Fresh parsley
• Bay leaf
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions
Heat olive oil and garlic in a large Dutch oven for 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Then add onion, carrot, celery, fennel, red bell pepper, mushrooms and zucchini. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes until the vegetables start to get some color and begin to caramelize. Then add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, potato and kale. Throw in a sashay or bundle of fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley, a bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for one hour or until the potatoes and other vegetables are tender. Makes 10-12 servings. 2 points per serving.

Notes
As I have mentioned before, I am a member of Weight Watchers. I think the organization is amazing and the notion of not being on a diet but changing your lifestyle is perfect for living healthy and losing weight. My wonderful friend Molly, also a big fan of WW, often looks at my recipes and then asks me how many points they are per serving. I have decided that from now on I will be giving the points value for each recipe I create. I hope this helps all of you and thank you Molly for the great idea!