A super delicious, classic Italian soup. Takes about 45 minutes to prep, the slow cooker does the magic! Walk in the door, after a long day and the most amazing fragrance will greet you; and dinner will soon be served!
* I like to use ground sirloin as it's leaner.
** I use Johnsonville brand as it's very lean and has great flavor.
*** I like to use the baby carrots as there's no peeling.
**** Homemade or purchased pesto is fine. I really like the pesto sold at Costco. I store it in the freezer, thaw it slightly and just scoop out what I need.
***** If you're not serving all of the soup right away, you may want to store the soup and pasta separately as the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid from the soup. The other option is to add more beef broth when serving leftovers if you like to keep the soup more "brothy". I like it both ways, it's a little heartier after some of the broth is absorbed.
This recipe makes a large batch. Feel free to half it if you don't need as much however it makes wonderful leftovers!
Makes 12 1 ½-cup servings