Another fast, fast, fast one. Todd wasn't too thrilled, but I liked it. And it made three tons so I better like it because I'll be eating it for a while.

I realized too late that the pasta in the leftovers would swell if I left the soup as it was, so I drained it and stored the solids and the liquid in the fridge separately. It works fine, but now I'm out of liquid and still have about 1 1/2 tons of beans, pasta and vegetables left.

I sauteed a chopped onion in oil until soft, then added a big can of Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes, 2 cups chicken stock, half a box of frozen peas and carrots and half a box of frozen string beans. Heated that through, then just before Todd got home I added a cup of ditalini and a 15-ounce can of rinsed kidney beans, seasoned liberally, then cooked until the pasta was done.