Getting snowed in often results in some pitiful meals. Scrambled eggs. Canned soup. Maybe just a bowl of cereal. But if you open your cupboard, you may find the makings of a low calorie, tummy-warming soup. It’s likely you have some type of canned beans, tomatoes, and chicken broth on the shelf. You probably have onion and garlic, and pasta shells. Look in the freezer for a stray chicken drumstick or thigh. Or maybe some sausage or ground beef. You might have greens in your vegetable bin, too. Throw them all together with basil, bay leaf and white wine, and you’ll end up with snowed-in Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Here’s one recipe to use as a guide. But you can substitute , white, black, or kidney beans. As for pasta, use small shells, macaroni, tortellini, or whatever you have on hand. If you have some sausage or ground beef, you can start by cooking half a pound of that along with the onions. But I prefer chicken. Greens can be collard, mustard, or spinach .
Snowed-In Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
½ onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1( 16 oz). can cannellini beans
1 teaspoon dried basil or thyme
1 bay leaf
½ cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 chicken drumstick or thigh
1 cup dried pasta (small shells, macaroni) or tortellini
1 cup fresh spinach
Directions:
In large pot, saute onion and garlic in oil. Add chicken drumstick, chicken broth, tomatoes, basil, bay leaf, white wine and cannellini beans. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes. Uncover. Remove bay leaf and chicken drumstick. Trim bone and put the meat back in the soup. Add pasta, and cook until tender. If the broth gets too thick, add a little water. Stir in spinach and cook 10 minutes.
Garnish with parmesan cheese, if you have it. .