Veggie Loaded Minestrone Soup

Brown bacon until it fries up flimsy, not crispy at all. Transfer bacon strips to paper towel covered plate to drain.

Reserve your bacon grease in the skillet. (I like to cook the entire soup, including the bacon all in the same soup pot, so that when my bacon is done, I get to scrape the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan.)

Add your chopped onion and brown the bits.

Deglaze the pan with your 6 cups of low sodium beef stock. I use low sodium so I can control the salt in my dish.

Add the red beans, fresh spinach, fire roasted tomatoes, zucchini slices and diced potatoes.

Bring to a simmer and cook until spinach has wilted in the broth and potatoes are cooked through.

Add the mini penne pasta and continue to simmer soup until pasta is al dente. This should serve up 5-6 healthy bowl fulls. Enjoy!