My Meaty Pasta Fagioli

This is another one of my favorite comfort foods! It is great for a simple family dinner, or for a small dinner party. It is healthy, filling, super easy, and delicious! (And I don't mean that vainly; Try it and you'll see!)

Pasta fagioli means pasta and beans.  And this dish has a lot of both! (Traditionally, pasta fagioli wouldn't really have meat, but who ever said I was traditional in my cooking?) (You can pronounce it fah-zool, or less commonly, fah-zhool, which is kinda how it comes out when i say it!)

It just makes you want to sing "That's Amore"!

Meaty Pasta Fagioli

You will need:

*Remember, for all ingredients, organic is best!*

1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can cannellini beans (very important!)
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes with basil
1 chicken bouillon cube
about 1 pound ground beef (90% lean), browned with garlic salt and oregano to taste
2 sausage links, fully cooked and ground in the food processor (or sliced thin)
2 cups homemade chicken stock (or buy a really good one)
garlic salt
oregano
water
at least 3 different pastas (I like to use ditalini, spaghetti, ziti, and rigatoni)

directions:

- Put all of the beans, meat, and tomatoes in a big pot, along with the chicken stock and seasonings (to taste)
- Cook on low heat for at least an hour. Add water as needed to keep it a soup.
- In separate pot, cook all of the pastas together only until al dente. Add a small amount of the broth to keep     the pasta from getting nasty.
- Serve the soup over the pasta. (I usually store the left-overs together, though. Just add water when you re-heat.)

Enjoy! <3