OK, so help me figure this out. You had cooked meat from three giant chickens, and you made vegetable soup ;0) What are you going to do with the chicken?

I love a good minestrone, now I'm tempted to make it. I'm not much for squash in soup though, unless a puréed creamy soup. Did you feel it was necessary to follow instructions and not leave that out?

Yum, Nancy, that sounds lovely. Like morz, I'm wondering what you are going to do with all that chicken, that's a LOT of chicken!

Here the dogs get all the "trimmings" after I make stock, but I don't use whole chickens, I just use backs/necks/feet/carcasses. So maybe chicken salad with those giant chickens?

Annie

After cooking for four hours there really wasn't any usable chicken. I took the breasts out after an hour or so simmering (for salad), the rest was just slivers and bones mixed in with mostly disintegrated veggies.

Some of minestrone's flavor comes from the broth and pancetta so it's not vegetarian vegetable soup. The broth is so rich I only used 1/3 of what was called for in Ina's recipe and the rest was water.

Years ago I used to make home made chicken soup with home made egg noddles and home made broth. No comparison in flavor to using the store-bought equivalents. Good or OK vs. great!

I'd used Ina's recipe before but left out some stuff I didn't have : pancetta (used bacon), kale (used spinach), butternut squash (nope), and I just used plain store bought boxed chicken broth. Ugh. Food, but not good food.

No offense, but you didn't really make Ina's minestrone. Pancetta, butternut squash and spinach. Never saw it with kale. We love it!

Here is the minestone recipe I use. Many people do not think a recipe is needed, but I follow this one anyway. Of course it can be improvised as well:

Minestrone
Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced white
onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1/3 cup minced celery
(about 1 stalk)
2 chopped zucchinis,
chopped
2 teaspoons minced
garlic (about 2-3 cloves)
2 cups water or
vegetable broth
2 tsp vegetable soup
base (if broth is not used – dissolve in the 2 cups water)
1 (14 ounce) can diced
tomatoes (or whole tomatoes puréed in can)
1/4 cup carrots,
shredded
2-4 tablespoons minced
fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried
oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried
basil
1/4 teaspoon dried
thyme
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
or vegetable soup base
1 to 1-1/2 tsp
vegetable soup base (dissolved in the water, if broth not used)
2/3 cup small shell
pasta (or farfalline, orzo, or similar)
1-3/4 cups cooked red
kidney beans, drained*
1-3/4 cups cooked small
white beans or great northern beans, drained*
2 cups fresh baby
spinach (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt, to taste, if soup
base is not used

******************

Heat the olive oil over
medium heat in a large soup pot.

Sauté onion and celery
in the oil for 4-5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.
Add the zucchini and garlic and sauté a couple of minutes more.

Add vegetable broth to
pot, plus tomatoes, carrot, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then
reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add additional 1 cup
hot water/vegetable broth (more, if needed), pasta, beans, spinach
leaves (if desired), and tomato paste, and cook for an additional 20
minutes or until desired consistency. Less water will be needed if
the spinach is used. Add salt to taste, if you are not using soup
base. Use more parsley if you are not adding spinach.

*Note: I use 7/8 cup of
each dried bean to yield the amount needed and cook the beans earlier
in the day or the day before in plain water with a couple of bay
leaves. I simmer them in the same pan. Alternatively, canned beans
can be used (14 oz can each), drained and rinsed.

Lars, thank-you! I'm always looking at minestrone recipes to find the certain something that's missing, which was in my favorite Italian chef's. This sounds really good even if it isn't the one. :)

I think there's an error eighth line from the bottom. That's supposed to be water or veg broth, right?