Hearty and Healthy Slow Cooked Minestrone Soup

Shhh! Don't tell my husband but I am having an affair. I have fallen passionately in love with my 6 qt slow cooker. My days are so much easier-for cleanup too!-these days thanks to this wonderful device. I have been craving minestrone soup for a couple of weeks now, and I finally got the chance to make it. Oh and yum, it was worth waiting for!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 32 oz beef broth
• 2 c water
• 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 bag frozen zucchini, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced OR 2 tbsp garlic salt (I used the latter)
• 1 1/2 c dried multi-grain soup noodles (mine weren't multi-grain but they should have been)
• 1 can chopped Spinach
• 1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
  

Additions: 1 c sliced carrots (I forgot), 1 tbsp snipped fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed, 6 c coarsely torn Swiss chard or 8 c packaged fresh baby spinach leaves (if you like a lot of spinach)

1. In your slow cooker, add the diced onion, broth, water, beans, zucchini, spinach, and tomatoes. Add garlic and stir. Set timer on 6-8 hours on low.
2. 1 1/2 hours before cook time is finished, cook your soup noodles according to package directions, however, you only want to cook them 5-8 minutes at the most (you don't want them soft), drain and add to crockpot.
3. After serving, sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top.

This soup is Um! Um! Good!