wednesdaymenu-1-1  It’s that time again.  What’s On the Menu Wednesday at your house this week? Did you try a new idea or pull out an old favorite?  Whatever it was, I hope you will share it with all of us by linking up below.
 
I was thumbing through several of my several cooking magazines this weekend when I came across this Pesto Bean Soup recipe in the Food Network Magazine’s March issue.  Since I always make a TON of homemade pesto each summer, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate it into our meals.  As our Perfect Girl would say, “ Ta. Da!”  We have a winner.
 
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Well…with some slight alteration that is.  You knew there would be.
 
I liked that you could start with a vegetable side dish and then turn it into a soup.  That was a plus.
 
I liked that it was easy and relatively inexpensive.  I really liked that I had all of the ingredients on hand.  Hip Hip Hooray.
 
I liked that it had a real mix of flavors…but it still left me wanting a little something else.  So, I squeezed in to touch of lemon and added a little more red pepper for heat.  I also added in another quarter cup of freshly grated parmesan — not the dry stuff —the real stuff.
 
I suggested that maybe some fresh spinach or kale stirred in would be a nice addition as well.  Hubs agreed.  As an afterthought, I think finely shredded carrots would be good as well.
 
 
Or, how about a nice big crusty crouton toasted with parmesan?
 
 
pesto bean soup home
 
 
Looking forward to giving all of those a try.   Any suggestions?
 
We really did like this.  We really did.  The flavors are intense and varied.  But it wasn’t exactly “meal-total” which our soups typically are.  It was, however, very tasty.  In fact, it got better as it aged.  I suggest that you make it early in the day, or the day before even, and let it “age.”
 
I have some artichoke and lemon pesto awaiting a recipe.  I’d love to have some creative suggestions from you.
 
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to what you have to say.  Thanks for joining me this week.
 

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