Weight Watchers Vegetable minestrone with pasta – 4 POINTS

This veggie minestrone is one of our favorite recipes to make in the slow cooker in anticipation of a cold winter night. Assemble it in the morning, let it cook all day, and dinner is ready to go when everyone gets home. In terms of the vegetables, this recipe features quite the variety, such as carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, summer squash, and string beans. For an even heartier soup to really warm the cockles, feel free to add 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced, to the soup at the same time as the other vegetables. Chickpeas and whole wheat pasta also combine to make this

Ingredients

Canned chickpeas

1 can(s), (15.5 oz), rinsed and drained

Canned diced tomatoes

14½ oz

Carrots

2 medium, sliced

Onion

2 medium, diced

Celery

2 rib(s), medium, with leaves, sliced

Uncooked zucchini

1 small, halved lenghtwise and sliced

Uncooked yellow summer squash

1 small, halved lengthwise and sliced

Uncooked string beans

½ pound(s), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Garlic

2 clove(s), chopped

Table salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Water

7 cup(s)

Uncooked whole wheat pasta

12 oz, spirals or other tube pasta (1 1/2 cups)

Basil

¼ cup(s), fresh, chopped or flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the pasta and basil in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, 4 – 5 hours on high or 8 – 10 hours on low.
2. About 30 minutes before the cooking time is up, cook the macaroni according to the package directions, omitting the salt if desired. Stir the pasta and basil into the soup. Yields about 2 cups per serving.