Tuscan Sunset Minestrone

Tuscan Sunset Minestrone

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken*
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 leek, light green and white part only, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup green beens, trimmed and cut into 1/4″ pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 48 ounce box Swanson’s Chicken Broth or homemade chicken stock
• 1 28 ounce can mini diced tomatoes
• 3 cups green cabbage,  sliced in 1/4″ slices then cut in 1″ pieces
• 2 teaspoons Penzeys Spices Tuscan Sunset (basil, oregano, red bell pepper, garlic, thyme, fennel (a sausage seasoning), black pepper and anise)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 14 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons minced parsley
• grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or asiago cheese

Instructions

Saute chicken and onion in olive oil until chicken is cooked. Add the carrots, celery and leek and cook 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, green beans and garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, cabbage and spices, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Turn off heat, add garbanzo beans and parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated parmesan or asiago cheese.

*You can also use diced fresh chicken pieces, roasted chicken or chicken sausage in place of the ground chicken. For the roasted chicken, saute the onions in a little olive oil and add the roasted chicken after the vegetables are cooked. Roasted chickens are salted so you may want to adjust the teaspoon of salt. Try Trader Joe’s Sweet Chicken Sausage (remove casings). You don’t need the oil or the salt and use 1 teaspoon each of basil and oregano in place of the Tuscan Sunset because the sausage has the sausage seasoning.