Pork and Bean Minestrone Soup

foodtvfan's Note:

A quick an easy soup to make on a busy day using canned pork and beans and leftover cooked ham. Substitute crispy well-drained bacon bits or other cooked meat for the ham if you like. Use any small macaroni you have on hand, and adjust the seasonings to your taste. Serve with thick crusty bread and butter, either plain or spread with garlic butter All-Purpose Herbed Butter and toasted under the broiler.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 ½ cups beef broth , canned
• ½ cup cooked ham , chopped
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot , chopped
• ¼ cup celery , diced
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon oregano (optional)
• ½ cup elbow macaroni , raw
• 1 (14 ounce) can pork and beans in tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Combine beef broth, cooked ham or other cooked meat, onion, carrot, celery, thyme and oregano in a large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Stir in raw macaroni.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender.
6. Add pork and beans and heat thoroughly.
7. Add additional liquid if necessary. (I use the water drained from boiling potatoes for making soups, gravies, sauces or use canned broth).

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

I love bean soups but must admit I'd never have thought to use a can of pork & beans, but it does work beautifully, especially with the added ham! Pretty much followed the recipe right on down & I now have another great recipe for soup for the coming cool months! Thanks for sharing this one! [Tagged & made in Please Review My Recipe]

[LainieBug]

A nice, hearty soup with the addition of the pasta and we liked the pork & bean flavor. I used John Morrell 96% Fat Free Ham Cubes and also added salt and pepper. My macaroni was tender in 10 minutes.

[ErikaNY]

I made this today for hubby, myself and our toddler (13 months old) - all THREE of us devoured it!!! Although I've never had a soup with a can of pork and beans, and it sounded like a "funny" ingredient to me, I LOVE pork and beans and really wanted to try this- so glad I did! My only two changes were to leave out the onion (as I'm not fond of them) and I used ditalini pasta rather than elbows (thought I had elbows so I didn't buy them, turned out I didn't - so I used what I had on hand). I used ham leftover from Easter... and YUM! I had two bowls... and we have NO leftovers between the 3 of us. Even our 13th month old enjoyed her small bowl (although she's not a noodle fan, she kept opening big for the beans and broth!). All of the flavors blended extremely well together and I will most certainly make again. Thanks for the GREAT soup recipe!