Minestrone

Or as the roommate dubs it, Italian Trash Soup. The Funk noted that it could also be known as Jersey Shore soup. I think it's soup of people who are marginally employed, yet rich in the realm of frozen vegetables.

It's not the best minestrone I've ever had; that distinction belongs to my dad's college roommate, whose minestrone is a labor of love, taking hours, with carefully balanced proportions of vegetables.

But mine is ready in 30 minutes. So I win?







Ingredients:
4 cups stock
2 cups water
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
10 oz sliced andouille sausage
1 lb dried black beans, soaked
garlic salt
black pepper
Italian seasoning
thyme
paprika
sage
tarragon
coriander
fennel seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 lb frozen peas
1/2 lb frozen corn
1/2 lb frozen green beans
1/2 lb frozen lima beans
1/2 lb short pasta

Directions:
Mix stock, water, tomato products, sausage, and onion together and bring to a boil. Add your spices to taste. Throw in the pasta and cook until just al dente. Then add in your frozen vegetables, and cook until they're ready.

Eat, enjoy, and avoid our mistake of drinking hobo wine at the same time. Which is a story for a different day. Suffice it to say, The Funk is no longer allowed to drink Mad Dog, Steel Reserve, or anything of that ilk in our house.