Zone Diet Recipe ~ Bison Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground bison meat
1 egg
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can kidney beans (or any kind you prefer)
1 small can of green beans (fresh or frozen can also be used)
2 thinly sliced carrots
2 finely chopped celery stalks
1 small can peas (fresh or frozen can also be used)
2 chopped potatoes
3 to 4 cups beef broth (oxo or canned is fine to use)
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp. oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely grated parmeseon cheese (the canned kind is fine)
1 tbsp. chopped garlic (powder can be used as well)
salt and pepper to tast
(other optional vegtables to use are sweet red/green/yellow peppers)


Instructions:

Put beef broth in large stock pot. Fry chopped onions in the oil until soft and add to broth and bring to light simmer. Add carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and 1/2 of the garlic to simmering pot - allow to simmer for 15 minutes and then add beans, peas and kidney beans stiring occasionally. Take the ground bison and mix with the egg, breadcrumbs, 1/2 of the parmeseon cheese, salt and pepper to taste and the remaining 1/2 of the garlic into a well blended mixture (using your hands gets the best results). Make small meat balls (about the size of a quarter or smaller) and drop into the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the remaining parmesion cheese just before serving.

This recipe will serve around 8. If you wish a lighter soup add more beef stock.