(everything but the) Kitchen Sink Soup

I made this waaaaaay back in the beginning of summer. It's just been sitting there in my ridiculous foodie photo file folder fingy (oh, alliteration...fun!) waiting for me to snatch it up and talk about it. I know I said fingy. I like to amuse myself. This was one one of those days when I was cleaning out the leftovers and pantry extras. I can't recall much about it other than it was pretty tasty. I'm really just looking for an easy way to get a post up...you know, Turkey day prep and all... (everything but the) Kitchen Sink Soup by girlichef 1 lb. ground beef 2-3 c. various vegetables, chopped fairly uniform I used garlic, onion, bell peppers, jalapeños, mushrooms and potatoes 1/4 c. diced ham 1/4 c. chili powder 1 (15 oz.) can beans 1 (15 oz.) can tomatoes 2 c. water/stock/broth whatever you're trying to use up...well, water....you know. 1/2 lb. ditalini or other small pasta, cooked until al dente (reserve ~1/2-1c. pasta water if possible) garnish (use up the ends of the bags/containers/leftovers) : shredded/cubed/crumbled cheese sour cream parsley/cilantro/chives Brown your ground beef. Drain off excess grease if too much, otherwise add the veggies and cook for a couple of minutes, until they begin to soften. Throw in the diced ham and chili powder and cook for a couple more minutes. Add beans and tomatoes with their juices, then the liquid and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or so, until the flavors come together. Add the cooked pasta and reserved cooking water and return to a boil for another minute or so. Ladle into bowls and garnish as you wish....and this soup is doing double duty today...I'm sending it to Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays and Presto Pasta Nights, which she is hosting this week. I also wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Andrea of Good Girl Gone Redneck for passing this double award, Best Blog and A Lovely Blog, on to me. You are too sweet :)