The house is quiet but the whirring of the dishwasher. You’d never know that just an hour earlier, the house was full of activity; laughter, conversation, and the hushed whispers of cousins sharing secrets.
At one point in the evening, I confided in my dad, “I love these get togethers.”
“Family is what it’s all about,” he answered.
Indeed.
That is why I started the tradition of a Fall Family Potluck.
We decided on an italian themed meal this year. Mom said that she thought it was the best menu we’ve ever had. It was definitely good. Very good.
Mom brought lasagna, one sister brought spaghetti for the kids and the other sister brought chicken penne. I provided the soup, salad, and bread.
The soup is a copykat recipe of Olive Garden’s pasta e fagioli.
There’s always so much leftover food. We’ll be having soup and salad for dinner again tomorrow night, but I’m not complaining. A night off from cooking is always welcome.
[gmc_recipe 12668]
My heart is filled to overflowing, and my stomach feels like it’s about to pop.
See you in class,
Get Organized Already says
I love this post for so many reason starting with the whir of the dishwasher. That’s one of my favorite sounds. (freak flag!)
I’m grocery shopping this morning and will be buying these ingredients.
Thank you once again, Mrs Hines.
-Nonnahs
Mrs. Hines says
That is one of my favorite sounds too…it’s so comforting. I hope you love the soup!!
Theresa @DearCreatives says
I love making soup. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Look delicious!
Stacey says
We are doing an italian feast for Christmas here at our house this year. I’m going to show this recipe to my husband. 🙂 Sounds delicious.
Mrs. Hines says
We just finished eating it for dinner again tonight, and it was do good…maybe even better the second time around. The soup loses a good bit of liquid when you store it, so I added more beef stock to reheat heat it.
Mrs. Hines says
I love that y’all are doing something a little different for the holidays! If you try the soup, you won’t be disappointed.
Gretchen says
This looks great! I have a question I have been wondering about for a while. I eat gluten free and I see you added wheat free pasta to this soup. In my experience, if I cook GF pasta just a tad too long, it turns to mush. How did yours do in the soup (I assume it was heating for a while) and in the leftovers, was it mushy? I have tried all types of gluten free pasta and it is the one thing in cooking gluten free that I continue to be frustrated by! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Donnamae says
The men in my family love this soup…so thank you very much for the recipe! I’ll be halving it for sure! 😉
Inspire Me Heather says
Oh yum, yum and more yum – thanks for the recipe!
Mrs. Hines says
Great question, Gretchen. There’s a brand of GF pasta at Walmart that I have the most luck with…it’s called Heartland. Other stores may carry it but I haven’t looked for it anywhere else.
I’d say the noodles were soft, but not mushy. I’d think that you could add the noodles in a little later to avoid them becoming mushy…maybe for the last 15 or 20 minutes..
Mrs. Hines says
total yum 🙂 and you’re most welcome. I hope you enjoy it!
Mrs. Hines says
If they love it, then I think they’ll be very happy with this copykat version.
Gretchen says
Yay! Thank you for the pasta suggestion! This will be dinner tonight (and for a few meals later)!
Mrs. Hines says
LOL..definitely makes a lot of food. I’ve never tried freezing it..wonder how that would work.
Thankfully we were feeding a large crowd some of who also took some home with them. We ate it again last night for dinner (so good leftover… I added more beef stock to it when reheating because it had absorbed a lot of the liquid) But got to send what was still leftover home with a friend who had joined us for dinner last night.
I’ll be anxious to hear how y’all like it!
Gretchen says
We just finished dinner – everyone loved this and the Heartland pasta you recommended worked beautifully. I halved the recipe and added in a bit more beef broth. Recently I have been making a pot of soup every week so we can eat the leftovers for lunches and as a snack after leaf raking! Thanks again!
Melanie says
What a fantastic idea! Looks and sounds like you had a wonderful time. The soup looks delicious. I’m not a total vegetarian, but I don’t eat much meat, especially red meat. This soup would even be delicious without the ground beef and just the beans!
Mrs. Hines says
We did have a good time… and I think you’re right that the soup would taste just as good with no meat. Let me know if you try it.
Mrs. Hines says
That’s what I love to hear! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed it and am glad to know that the pasta worked out well for you.
kristin says
This looks amazing!! Family coming together is the best 🙂 XO