Pasta Fagioli Soup

Last night I made this soup, and it turned out to be wonderful! It's actually supposed to be a copy-cat of the Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli soup, but it's been a long time since I've tasted theirs so I'm not sure how well this one compares. All I know is that hubby and I loved this version!

(It was a little thicker than I expected, but as I was typing in this recipe I realized I had forgotten to put in the V-8! So it would probably be even better with that ingredient in it.)

Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli

1 lb ground beef
1 cup diced onion
1 cup julienned carrot
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounce) can v-8 vegetable juice
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 lb ditali pasta

1) Brown beef in a large stock pot over medium heat-drain off fat.
2) Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
3) Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
4) After 50 minutes boil pasta to al dente.
5) Drain well.
6) Add pasta to the large pot of soup and simmer for 10 minutes.

For nutritional information go the original link on Recipezaar.