Florence Style - Ribollita Soup

When I lived in Florence, this soup quickly became my favorite thing to eat. It's a very traditional soup in Florence and it's available at almost every restaurant. This soup is tasty and yet still very healthy for you. I was really craving some soup last night and this turned out perfect!

Ingredients:
- 1 bag fresh spinach
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, cubed
- 15 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 can canellini beans, washed and drained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups of water
- 1/4 vegetable bullon cube
- 2 cups rice (minute rice)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- dried oregano
- smoked paprika
- crushed red pepper flakes
- salt
- pepper

To Make:
In a large pot, add 1/4 cup of olive oil and being sauteing the onions, garlic and carrots on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add in the water and bullon cube. Bring to a boil and stir in the tomato paste until dissolved. Next add in the beans and rice. Let this cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Add in the spinach and stir in the parmesan cheese. Season with 1 tablespoon of oregano, paprika and crushed red pepper flakes. Also season with salt and pepper.

Lastly, add in the bag of spinach and mix together. Let cook for another 10 minutes stirring frequently before serving.

Note: I used minute rice in this dish... if I would have used regular rice, it would need to cook for at least 0-30 minutes longer.

Mexican Bean Soup

Once it starts getting colder outside, I really enjoy making warm, healthy (yet hearty) soups. I don't get crazy with needing "specific" ingredients... I usually just evaluate my fridge and pantry and use what I've got. This soup turned out to be a complete success!

Ingredients:- 1 can dark red kidney beans
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 10 garlic cloves, chopped
- Your choice of either 2 boca burgers, 1/2 pound ground turkey, beef or chicken)
(I used Boca burger for this dish)
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- olive oil
- water
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt
- pepper

To Make:

In a medium pot, saute the onions, garlic and peppers in olive oil until they are just about tender. Add your choice of meat. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 cups of water and the tomato paste. Stir together well. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Next, drain the top of the kidney beans and add them into the soup. Add another cup of water. Season with oregano and crushed red pepper to taste. Mix together and cover. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce and continue cooking on medium low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Taste the broth for seasoning... season more if needed.

In the meantime, boil 1 cup of rice according to the package. You can use minute rice or the regular kind. I prefer minute rice in this situation since this soup does not take long to cook.

Once the rice is complete, scoop some rice into a large soup bowl and top with soup.

Delicious, hearty, healthy and QUICK!