Easy Minestrone

As I stood in the pouring rain this morning at 5 am with my two dogs I decided today would definitely be a soup day. After waiting for over 5 minutes for them to do their stuff, soaking wet, I pulled them back inside. It was a waste of time, as once outside they stared at me as if to say, 'why are we outside when our little beds are so warm and cozy?' I understood, yet work was calling and they needed to pee. My reward for surviving the week would be coming home to a warm bowl of minestrone, topped with freshly grated parm.

• 1 cup of tubetti
• olive oil
• 10 cups of chicken stock
• 1/4 pound pancetta (I used bacon diced up, too lazy to go to store)
• 8 garlic cloves cut in half
• 2 small onions diced
• 1 cup celery
• 4 to 5 carrots diced
• 1 stem of rosemary
• 1 14 oz can cannelini beans, rinsed
• 1 14 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 3 to 4 small diced zucchini
• 1 large peeled potato diced
• Grated parm

Cook pasta in salted water, drain. In large pan heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, when hot, add pancetta or in my case bacon, brown for about 3 minutes.(I drained about 3/4 of the bacon grease and oil out of the pan). Add garlic, brown for about 1 minute, add onions, celery and carrots, cook for about 10 minutes. Add rosemary , beans and tomatoes, zucchini , diced potato and stock, cook for 20 to 30 minutes till potatoes are tender. Skim off any foam that forms on top, add cooked pasta. Serve topped with parm. Now take your dogs out in the rain with a smile.