Slow-Cooked Beef Minestrone

I was shopping at Wegmans when I sampled some of this soup. It was delicious! I went home and made it. I changed some of the ingredients by adding my own mix of veggies, etc. Wegmans has a lot of these ingredients prepackaged for your convenience, but you can improvise and vary the ingredients and it will still come out tasting great!

1-1 ½ lbs. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1” cubes
2 T. olive oil
16 oz. soup veggies (carrots, celery, onions)
Salt & pepper*
1 qt. beef stock
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (24 oz.) tomato sauce
½ c. dry Ditalini pasta
1 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans
1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach
Italian grated cheese

1. Dust beef with flour; pat off excess.

2. Heat oil in pan on medium-high until it lightly smokes. Add beef and sear until light brown.

3. Transfer beef to slow cooker. Add vegetables to skillet with beef drippings; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes; add to slow cooker.

4. Add stock, tomatoes and sauce to slow cooker. Cover, cook 4½ to 6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

5. Cook pasta in boiling water. Add when tender.

6. Add spinach to slow cooker and stir until lightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve with Italian cheese, if desired.

*I always use a combination of Trocomare and Spike, Hot & Spicy for a little extra kick!