Minestrone Stoup - yes stoup!

Fall!  I love fall,  its my favorite time of the year.  October is my favorite month of the year.  I would have to say however that October only became my favorite time of the year AFTER I moved away from Montana.  October can be brutal in Montana.  I love sweatshirts and fire's and hot cozy meals.  On October 1st I started looking back at my favorite recipes and the one's I have marked to try.  I'm really excited about trying them and I think you'll like them too.  My first recipes of fall is this fantastic "stoup".  Its thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew. I just used whatever I had in my pantry so feel free to mix this up!

 Brown up somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 a pound of hamburger.

 Add some salt...

 Dice up a medium onion and a couple cloves of garlic and add to the burger.

 Cut up a couple of stalks of celery.  I like the heart of the celery with the leafy tops, I think it's purdy.

 Dice up one large carrot or two medium/small carrots.

Open one can of kidney beans, one can of tomatoe sauce, and one can of diced tomatoes.  Measure out 1 cup of small pasta.  Feel free to mix up the tomatoes with sauce, diced, stewed, or crushed. After you empty the cans of tomato, fill them up about half way with water and pour them in.  Use both cans to equal about 1 full can of water.  If you're going for more of a soup consistancy here you'll want to add more water or beef broth.  I ended up adding about 1 cup of broth also.

 Add about a cup of your favorite vegetables.  I used frozen green beans...

 frozen corn and peas.

 Don't forget the spices!  I used the last remaining fresh basil, about a Tablespoon.

 Some dry Oregano, I think about a teaspoon,

 I didn't take a picture of this part, but this is really important!  Vinegar - white vinegar!  I added one teaspoon to start with, then added another teaspoon toward the end. 

Let this simmer for about 30 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the veggies are cooked. Top with some grated from Parmesan.

I love this recipe!  The vinegar sounds like a strange ingrediant but it totally makes it!  Don't leave it out, or bad things will happen.  Really.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 to 3/4 pound ground beef
1 medium onion - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
2 stalks of celery - chopped
2 medium or 1 large carrot - chopped
1 cup uncooked small pasta, like shells
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 can water
1 cup beef broth - more for a soupy consistancy
1 Tbsp fresh basil - or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp white vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded parmesan - optional

Begin by browning the hamburger in a large pot. Add the chopped onion and garlic, then the celery and carrot until they begin to tenderize; about 5 minutes. Stir often.
Pour in both cans of tomatoes, and the beans. Add the water and the broth and bring to a boil.  Next add the frozen vegetables, pasta, seasonings, salt and pepper and vinegar and bring back up to a boil; then reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.  Keep checking this while it's simmering to ensure the seasonings are to your liking.
Top with parmesan if desired.