I am not a food blogger, but I love food and feed my family regularly so I figure I can get away with a favorite recipe or two. =) I only post recipes that my entire family loves ... and mostly just to remind myself how I made it so it can be made again. This soup is so tasty and filling and healthy ... and reminds me of my favorite minestrone soup at The Olive Garden. I just made this for the third time this month, y'all. It reheats beautifully and is my lunch option on most days. Here is what I used in this batch: The fabulous folks at Little Spice Jar posted a recipe that I [almost] followed. Changes I made include removing the Parmesan rind, onion, and celery. I used more vegetable stock and no water. I used frozen vegetables and frozen spinach, and didn't include the pasta in the soup. Rather, I allowed the kids to "layer" pasta and soup and I enjoyed the soup sans pasta. Fewer carbs for me. =) I also cooked it in a soup pot in under an hour although ...