Counting Down the Days Until Spring? Enjoy this Late Winter Dish

Stay warm and cozy during the last week of winter with a delicious and healthy meal from the slow cooker. Combining vegetables, beans, pasta and herbs, minestrone soup is tasty, easy to make and rich in protein and fiber, which means it will keep you satisfied for hours after eating.

Recipes for minestrone soup vary from cook to cook, so feel free to make substitutions or additions to fit your family's preferences.

You will need a medium round or oval slow cooker. Total cooking time is seven to eight hours.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 small zucchini, ends trimmed and cubed
• One 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained and half the beans mashed
• 1 teaspoon salt**
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, mashed, with their juice
• One 10-ounce package frozen baby lima beans
• 2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 5 leaves Swiss chard, chopped or 1/2 small head Napa cabbage, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup dry red wine such as Chianti, Merlot or Pinot Noir
• 1/3 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni or little shells
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

**To reduce sodium, skip the salt and use canned beans and tomatoes with “no salt added.”

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes or until just softened. Transfer to the slow cooker and add kidney beans, salt, bay leaf, peppers, parsley, tomatoes and juice, lima beans and broth. Add enough water to rise about one inch above the vegetables. Cover and cook on low for five hours.
2. Add Swiss chard and wine, cover and continue to cook on low for another two to three hours. Remove the bay leaf.
3. Stir in pasta, cover and cook on high for about 30 minutes or until the pasta is just tender.
   
4. Ladle into soup bowls, top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
   

The recipe produces 12 servings. Serving size is one cup and contains 125 calories, six grams of protein and four grams of fiber.

Adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman (The Harvard Common Press, 2005)