BEST EVER PASTA FAGIOLI
1 clove fresh garlic (or more to your taste)
2 (19oz) cans of cannellini beans
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
add a couple of small carrots for a little sweetening
sprinkle a few flakes of pepper seeds for an extra tang
seasonings: salt, pepper, grated cheese, Italian seasoning (to taste) meatballs (use your favorite recipe, approx. 1″, browned)
brown a .25 pound of bulk sausage
1 pkg. shell macaroni (cooked and drained)
Brown garlic in olive oil.
Mix 2 cans beans with one can water in electric blender until almost smooth.
Add blended beans to browned garlic then add the can of tomato sauce and one can of water to the pan.
Add remaining ingredients (except pasta), bring to slow boil. Let simmer for 25 min. Stirring occasionally. Add pasta before serving.

Back in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s people used to call pasta fagioli “poverty chow” because it was so inexpensive to make. At that time it was sort of an embarrassment to admit a family ate it 3 times a week because not everyone wanted to admit they were poor. Now some of the best Italian restaurants around the world feature  pasta fagioli on their menus.

If you have a ham bone with a little meat left on it from Thanksgiving, put it in the pot. It adds a lot of flavor

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