MINESTRONE WITH GARLIC CROUTONS AND WHITE CHEDDAR.

It's true... the picture is a little blurry.  Don't judge.  I was wrapped up in the moment... trying to snap a picture before I devoured every bite of this delicious soup packed with nutrients.

We wanted to share this recipe courtesy of Eat Live Run.  Jenna Beaugh shared this on her blog last week, and we've been itching to try it ever since.  We changed things up just a little though.  We added parsley, and bell pepper.  We also used chicken broth instead of water.   I also made awesome garlic croutons as well and sprinkled white cheddar on top.

You can view Jenna's post here.  This minestrone was filled with caramelized onion, garlic, butternut squash... you get it.  Do yourself a favor.  Make it!

Minestrone

from Jenna Beaugh at Eat Live Run

Ingredients:

1 cup dried cannellini beans

1 yellow onion, small dice

4 carrots, small dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

1 small butternut squash, small diced {or any other winter squash}

1 fennel bulb, small dice

2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves, rough chopped

2 bay leaves

3 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 tsp salt

pepper

parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

The night before, soak the beans in cold water in a large pot. In the morning, drain the beans, add fresh water {about 3″ above beans} and simmer until very tender – about 1 hour. Drain cooked beans and reserve cooking liquid.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and fennel and saute for about 15-20 minutes until veggies are soft and onion has started to turn golden brown. Don’t skimp on this step because it adds so much flavor for the soup later!

Add the garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and salt and saute for another 3 minutes. Then, add the water and the squash. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender – about 15 minutes.

When the squash has become tender, add the beans and enough bean cooking liquid until you reach desired thickness. Keep in mind that this soup is supposed to be very thick so don’t add to much liquid here! Less is more. Add the spinach and cook just until the spinach has wilted.

Adjust seasonings if need be and serve soup topped with a tbsp {or more!} of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bread is always a good idea as well.

Croutons (from The Pioneer Woman):

• 1/2 loaf Crusty French Bread
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic (peeled)
•  Salt To Taste

Slice the bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Throw them onto a baking sheet.

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat.

Peel and crush—but don’t chop—2 cloves of garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. After about 3 to 5 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the garlic from the pan.

Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes. Mix together with your hands, then sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 200º for one hour, shaking the pan occasionally.

One hour after baking, crank up the heat to 400 degrees. Bake them on high heat for just a few minutes.