Marvelous Minestrone

I love soup! But I have actually gotten to the point where I DON'T like it from a can. This is hugely unusual because I pretty much grew up living entirely on soup. Ask my parents, it's true! I used to eat if for BREAKFAST! Anyway, I have brag and say that I do, in fact, make the best minestrone soup ever. Now I will indulge my secret (or not so secret) recipe.

"Monika's Minestrone Soup"

-Can of mixed beans (you can also do the hard beans and soak them the night before, but I never have the patience!)
-Plenty of vegetable stock (boullion)
-1 Pepper of your choice (green, yellow, red, whatever you like!)
-1 medium sized onion
-1 to 2 garlic cloves
-1/4 of a cabbage
-2 to 3 carrots
-1 to 2 potatos
-1 to 2 celery stalks
-small handful of fresh spinach
-1 cup of your favorite soup noodles
-1/2 small tin of tomato sauce
-1/2 cup of frozen corn
-1/2 cup frozen peas
-Seasonings you like! Some good choices are: Rosemary, Oregano, Bay Leaves, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper. My FAVORITE seasoning is Adobo... it may very well be the secret magic to this soup!
-Olive Oil

***Note*** The reason I am so lenient on the amount of some of the ingredients, is that your pot size will vary, as will the amount of soup you want to make. Also, some people just like certain ingredients more than they like others. I LOVE potatos, so I put lots. I can do without celery. Any of the veggies in the soup you can take or leave, really... and you can add anything to it that you want to! You can even add meat if you want. If I ate meat, I would probably add hamburger to this soup. If you want to add hamburger, brown it first, then toss it in at the end. You probably could even add Yves Veggie Ground to it (fake meat) and it would probably taste great!

1.) Add a bit of oil to the pot and heat it on low. When it's heated, add the garlic and onions. DON'T BURN THEM! Just heat them :)
2.) When the onions and garlic are heated, add chopped carrots, celery, peppers, and potatos.
3.) Sweat the chopped veggies a bit on low heat, adding some of your seasonings.
4.) Add enough stock to cover the veggies, then add the same amount again. Add as much stock as you want soup, but leave enough room for the water to rise when you add the beans, noodles, etc.
5.)Add the tomato sauce.
6.)Bring to a boil.
7.)When it comes to a boil, add the pasta. Let the pasta cook for about 5 minutes.
8.) Now add chopped cabbage and the DRAINED can of beans.
9.) After about 5 minutes, add the handful of spinach, the corn, and the peas. Stir.
10.) Test the soup out; check to see that it tastes the way you want it, that the noodles and potatos are cooked enough, etc. When everything is the way you want it, it is ready to serve!

This soup tastes great with fresh bread and with fresh parmesan sprinkled on top!