Mom's Minestrone Soup

I made a double batch of this soup today, using my mom's recipe. It made 16 servings of soup. E & I are eating 2 servings for dinner and freezing the rest in individual serving size containers. I added up the cost per serving, and it comes to 81 cents; I'd say that's a good deal. My calculation doesn't include the olive oil, salt & pepper, and any cheese that you serve it with, but it's still very thrifty and will be nice around finals time :)

Here is the recipe for one batch (about 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP. olive oil
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots (peeled), sliced or chopped
• 1 medium-size zucchini, peeled and diced
• 6 c. vegetable broth or chicken broth (you can use bouillon; we used pre-made broth because the lower-sodium canned broth was on sale this week)
• 2 c. water - or a little more if needed
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can of Italian diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
• 1 c. uncooked pasta (elbow or spiral or whatever is in your cupboard)
• 1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained
  
• 1 ½ c. frozen green beans
• salt & pepper
  

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large pot, add onions, sauté for 3 minutes.
2. Add carrots and zucchini; sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil, turn down after a couple of minutes and simmer until veggies are tender (about an hour). Stir occasionally.
4. Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese after dishing it up in a bowl.