Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 onion, chopped
* 1 cup carrots, chopped
* 2 celery stalks, chopped
* 1 small to medium zucchini, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tsp Italian seasoning
* 15oz can of beans, drained, rinsed and divided
* 3 cups chicken broth, divided
* 28oz can diced tomatoes
* 1 oz chunk of Parmesan cheese rind
* salt and pepper
* 1-2 cups dry pasta

Directions
1. Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic and Italian seasoning.  Cook until soft, about 12 minutes.
2. Puree one cup of the beans with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth.
3. Add the bean puree, remaining broth, tomatoes and cheese rind.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring this to a boil.
4. Once boiling, add the remaining beans and pasta.  Reduce the heat and cook until the pasta is done.  Serve and enjoy!

Notes
I combined ideas from 2 minestrone soup recipes to create this one.  The great thing about minestrone soup is that there is no official recipe - just some basics: vegetables, beans, broth.  All of us loved my version!  Pureeing some of the beans helped thicken the soup and little, and still gave us all the benefits of the beans in the soup without them overpowering each bowl.  The cheese rind added a nice flavor to the soup, and you can serve this soup with fresh grated Parmesan if you'd like!  We went a little heavier on the pasta (closer to 2 cups dry pasta) because I knew the kids were going to love that part of the soup.