Minestrone Soup Freezer Meal Recipe

Minestrone Soup
Carrie

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can green beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups water
2 cups beef broth
1 1/4 cups cooked macaroni, rinsed in cold water
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
salt, to taste

Directions:
Saute onion, carrots, and celery for about 5 minutes. Add cooked beef, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir together. Add green beans, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans and stir together. Add water, beef broth, seasonings and stir together. Let simmer for 20 minutes adding cooked macaroni the last 5 minutes (not cooked in the soup to help the noodles not turn mushy). Add salt, to taste.

***FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS***: Under-cook macaroni noodles by a couple minutes, or leave out entirely. If left out, provide a small baggie with uncooked noodles. Divide in freezer-safe baggies and freeze flat.
***TO COOK FROM FROZEN***: Thaw. Heat on stove top until heated through. If macaroni was left out, add raw noodles and heat until noodles are tender.