Italian Alphabet Soup

    One of my treasured recipes from my Aunt Donna is her Italian Stew.  When I was little, I used to love being at her cozy farmhouse in the winter when she would make this soup.  My favorite part of the soup were the little alphabet pastas she would add at the end.  I always loved the thought of that alphabet soup in a can but never liked it once it was opened so with Aunt Donna's recipe, I could have the little ABCs but in a wonderful, homemade soup.

   Recently my friend Gloria shared her recipe for what she calls Spaghetti Soup with me.  Not only did she share the recipe, though; she also brought me a bowl of it for lunch during a very busy week at work!  I was so grateful for the warm soup and am also grateful for her recipe as I ended up making it this weekend.  I followed Gloria's advice and used fresh vegetables as opposed to the frozen ones the recipe originally called for.  It didn't take much longer and the results are well worth it.  You can certainly substitute the fresh carrots and green beans for a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, but I can't promise your soup will taste as good as mine or Gloria's did!

   Never one to leave recipes alone, I decided to merge Aunt Donna's recipe with Gloria's.  Instead of the spaghetti that Gloria's calls for, I used the alphabet pasta of my childhood.  It reminds me of Aunt Donna and also makes my own two girls really happy.  In fact, my 3 year-old and I ended up sitting down and playing with some of the dried ones.  The recipe calls for just throwing the pasta in at the end, but I really don't like the extra starch you get when you do that so I always boil my pasta separately for a little less time than the box calls for, drainin the pasta, and then add it in after I have completely finished the soup.  If the starch doesn't bother you, you can just skip this step.

  I have made pasta e fagioli in the past and love the addition of the parmesan rind as a last step.  I keep a bag of leftover rinds in my freezer just for this purpose.  Any time I finish a wedge of parmesan, I just throw it in the freezer so that I have it for soup.  I decided this would be perfect for my Italian Alphabet Soup.  You could also just grate some parmesan on the top if you don't have any leftover rinds.  As always, I recommend using Sartori parmesan from the fine cheese section of your grocery store.  It's my very favorite!

   While it's still cold outside, give this soup a try!  My 8 year-old deemed it the best meal she has ever had!

Italian Alphabet Soup (click on title for a printable version)

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 t. minced garlic

2 14.5 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes
2 cans French onion soup
5 cups of water
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. sugar

4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 lb. stringless green beans, broken into 1/2" pieces

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Barilla marinara sauce)

1/2 c. dried alphabet pasta

parmesan rinds or grated parmesan (I always use Sartori brand)


Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic in a large pot.  Drain grease.

Add tomatoes, French Onion soup, water, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Add vegetables.  Cover and simmer for 1/2 an hour.

Add spaghetti sauce and parmesan rinds if using.  Simmer for 30 minutes more.

Meanwhile, boil alphabet pasta for about 4 minutes (a little less than the package calls for).  Rinse with cold water to remove extra starch and drain well.  Add to soup.