Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

It's been a long hard winter, and with my rheumatoid arthritis and the extreme cold, I come home from work with all my old joints aching. Being a writer, people thought a job as a librarian would be perfect for me. I have to admit, though, that the hours of standing and all the heavy lifting and those stubborn slippery books that don't want to stand up in a straight row sometimes makes me sick of books!

Like everyone else, though, it all looks better once spring peeks its pretty head around the corner and we all come running to the warmth. In the meantime, we're planning meals earlier in the day but sometimes don't dine until 10 pm or so (Joe likes to wait for me to get home so we can eat together). Isn't it wonderful to come home from work and a nice hot dinner is ready to eat? This recipe is just about as simple as opening cans and dumping them in the crock pot.

To make it even quicker, you can buy frozen chopped onions, carrots, and celery. In the version shown in this photo, we added a can of mixed vegetables from the back of the cupboard, so there's peas and limas and corn in the stew this time.

If you want a very thick stew, as we made, add the pasta with everything else. If you prefer a brothy soup, boil the pasta separately and add to the soup before serving. If you have leftovers, they will freeze better if the pasta and soup are kept separately.

We make this as a way to clear some cans out of the pantry for a meatless Monday, and to make a low-fat and hearty meal. If you want some meat in yours, add a pound of ground beef or turkey, browned and drained, to the pot.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 28-oz can Rotel or Italian-style crushed tomatoes

1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1 16 oz can red kidney beans, drained
1 16 oz can cannellini or Great Northern white beans, drained
1 28 oz can vegetable stock

2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tsp oregano

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce

8 oz pasta (we used whole-wheat ditalini in this batch)

Instructions

Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir well. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours. If you add pasta near the end, either turn the slow cooker to high and add it 30 minutes before eating, or boil the pasta according to package directions and add before serving.

Serves 6.