Spaghetti Bean Soup

While most of the country is enjoying April showers and May flowers, the upper Midwest has been hit by snow almost every day over the past few weeks.  So, while it may officially be spring, it still feels very much like winter here.  I normally really enjoy the snow, no matter what time of the year it falls, but even I’m starting to get spring fever.  *sigh* I realize that complaining won’t make the whiteness go away any faster, so I made this a perfect excuse for me whip up a big pot of soup and get nice and snuggly in my little apartment.

Note: This is unusual meal for me because of the fact that there’s meat in it.  It wasn’t in my original plan, but as I was gathering ingredients to put in the soup, it occurred to me that some ground turkey would be a wonderful addition.  I feel that the meat adds an important flavor to the soup.  If you don’t want to add meat, you could try some Veggie Crumbles (from Morningstar Farms, or some other brand), but I doubt it would have the same great flavor that a meaty version would have.

Spaghetti Bean Soup

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

2 large onions

2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

2 cans of great northern bean

3-4 cups of water

Uncooked spaghetti noodles

Salt and seasonings

1. Dice the onions and put them in a large pot with the raw meat.  

2. Cook on medium heat until the meat is well done and the onions are translucent.  

3. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans.  Then, add about three to four cups of water.

4. To make this a bona fide soup rather than a watery chili, I took about four small handfuls of spaghetti noodles, broke them into one inch long pieces and added them to the soup.  I brought the soup up to a rolling boil and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  The little noodles remind me of the ones in a Lipton soup packet. So fun!

5. Finally, season with some oregano or whatever other herb or spices you prefer.  

I don’t mean to brag but, this is one of the best soups I have ever had in my life.  And I’ve eaten a lot of different soups in my years.  I feel that the hardest part about making this soup was coming up with a name for it.  Hamburger Noodle Soup?  Tomato Bean Soup?  But don’t worry, in the end, I feel like I came with a winner.  Now that I’ve done all the strenuous mental labor, you guys get to do the fun part: making soup!  You’re welcome!