ABC 123 Soup & whole wheat pita crisps

This soup is just something I threw together for a nice little family Sunday lunch with what little groceries were in my fridge/pantry today (just returned from a trip).  It is similar to some Italian soups.  This is one of the easiest quickest soups I've ever made and the simple flavors were suprisingly tasty.  Healthy & low fat, it's a must-make!  Excellent way to use up & sneak in veggies; my daughter loved it & she normally isn't a big fan of tomato sauce.  Maybe it's because it really doesn't have a lot of tomato sauce.

Ingredients used:

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups water
nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup DaVinci letter & number pasta (I forgot the exact name but it's sold at Harris Teeter)-they're really tiny.  Alternately, you could use orzo.
3-4 whole wheat pita breads, cut into wedges & separate the 2 layers of each pita bread if you can (some pieces may stick)

12 oz. Pacific organic vegetable broth

1 can no salt added tomato sauce 8 oz.

1 tbsp. minced garlic

5 (the thicker ones not the really baby ones) baby carrots, thinly sliced into small circles

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

2-3 cups of chopped broccoli

1 can navy or canneloni beans

1/8 cup grated parmesean cheese

flat leaf parsley, 1/8-1/4 cup chopped

1/2 tsp.  Trader Joe's pasta seasoning blend

coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
Finely shredded mozarella or Italian cheese blend to garnish each bowl per preference

Steps taken:

Put 2 cups water to boil for pasta.  Once boiling, add the pasta, coarse salt, & cook for 6 minutes.

Heat approx. 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil & 1 tsp. butter in pot/sauce pan.  Add 1 tbsp. minced garlic.  Before it browns (burnt garlic can literally ruin a recipe), stir in carrots & bell pepper.  Sprinkle coarse salt & a bit of ground black pepper (as they recommend on the Food Network, it's good to season every layer as you go along & I've noticed you're less likely to need table salt once served).  Add broccoli once carrots & bell peppers start to soften.  After 5 min. stir in broth & tomato sauce.  Add beans.  Add pasta seasoning, more coarse salt, & ground pepper (just a little so not too spicy for kids).  Simmer 5-10 more min., remove from heat, & stir in pasta, then parmesean cheese & parsley.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with the Italian cheese - it will melt before your eyes!  An extra drizzle of olive oil is really heavenly.  Serve with pita crisps below or store bought pita chips.
Pita crisps:
Turn oven broiler on HI.  Arrange pita wedges on a cookie sheet.  Spray with cooking spray (I used the Trader Joe's canola spray).  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Broil for 4-5 minutes.  Cool for a few minutes & enjoy!