Tuscan-Style Florentine Soup

As with every soup I make, my son LOVED to help me make this "Shoup"! Soup is one of the easiest meals for him to help me for, since it's mostly adding things to a pot and stirring, which are easy tasks for a two year old to do.



This soup is super delicious! I managed to resist the urge to be super corny and spell it "souper", by the way! I hope you appreciate the effort that took! Haha!

So, now, the moment you've been waiting for, how to make it!!
This recipe takes about 1 hour to 1 hour 50 minutes to cook, depending on how long you let the soup simmer.

1 pound pork loin (You could also use tenderloin.)
lemon pepper seasoning
olive oil cooking spray
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
5 cups chicken stock (1 box plus 1 cup)
1 can or bag Great Northern Beans (Remember, cook and divide a pound of beans for money savings and lower sodium.)
1/2 cup Orzo pasta (Whole wheat is best if you can find it, but I can't always find it.)
1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheat with foil and spray with cooking spray. Rub the lemon pepper seasoning all over the meat. If there is a skinny end, tuck it under so it is all the same thickness. Roast for 40 minutes. The meat may still be a little pink. That's fine, it will continue to cook in the soup. Let the pork cool and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large pot or dutch oven sprayed with cooking spray, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in tomatoes (They tend to splatter.), dried herbs and chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes to an hour (I simmered mine for an hour. The longer you let it simmer, the more flavorful the soup will be,). Increase heat to high and add in the beans, with liquid if you're using beans you made yourself (If you are using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans first, then add a half cup of water or chicken stock to the soup.) and Orzo pasta. Cook according to the box directions on the pasta for Al dente doneness. In the final two minutes of cooking time, stir in the spinach and let heat through.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with Roasted Garlic and Grilled Scallion Biscuits! Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 6-8.