The day after I get home from an international trip I always take the day off. I?ve found the best way to recover from jet lag is to not jump right back to work but instead take a full day off to rest, do my laundry from the trip, and eat healthy food. I found out on my journey home from Italy that it would be raining for a week back home in Northern California so I made up my mind to recreate an Italian soup to help with my recovery.
?Pasta e Fagioli? means “pasta and beans” and it’s an Italian soup made of meat, beans, vegetables, and pasta. ?Pasta e Fagioli? is the Venetian dialect but in the US, it?s also referred to as ?Pasta Fazool? from the southern Italian dialect. Sometimes made with pancetta, I made mine with ground beef like the one I had in Venice.
It?s tasty, hearty, and a perfect winter soup that?s ready to eat in one hour. I made this last night for dinner for my family, delicious!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion (finely diced)
3 garlic cloves (finely diced)
1 lb. ground beef
1 32 oz. low sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
10-12 diced baby carrots
1 cup small pasta shells
4-5 chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 tbsp dried basil)
1 tbsp oregano
¾ tsp garlic powder
ground parmesan cheese (garnish)

To prepare: Dice the onion and garlic and soften for 2 minutes in a large soup pot on low heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the ground beef to the pot and stir until it?s...