Cook's Country Slow Cooker Minestrone

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Sometimes we have to make our own mistakes. For example, I had to substitute dried beans for cooked in this slow-cooker minestrone, forgetting that rule about uncooked dried beans and acidic ingredients. It turns out that acid does stop the beans from cooking. Even if you've presoaked the beans and given them a 15-minute simmer, the cooking process stops dead as soon as you mix in some tomatoes. Lesson learned. I doubt if I'll forget again.

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So that describes pretty well what I did. Just skip all that soaking and simmering nonsense and used precooked or canned beans. Other than that snafu, this was pretty easy. I peeled 3 carrots and cut into 1-inch pieces, then sliced 3 celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices. I minced a small onion. I put the vegetables in the slow cooker with 28 ounces of diced tomato from a can, 4 cups chicken stock and the beans. (I repeat—cooked beans! about 2 cups, or 1 can.) I cooked on low for 8 hours, with a short interruption at around hour 6 to do this:

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I painstakingly picked out all the dried beans that were not cooking, then added a drained can of garbanzo beans. About 30 minutes before we were ready to eat, I added 1 cup uncooked pasta. Covered and allowed the hot soup to cook the pasta, then served with grated Parmesan and crusty bread. (Pesto would've been lovely, too.)

10 Satisfying Slow-Cooker Soups

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