Winter Minestrone Soup

Lisa made this soup for me after I had Henrik. She used frozen meat balls in place of the bacon. It was the best minestrone ever, I really loved it. She also "added a head of cauliflower and a zucchini. I usually just throw in whatever sad vegetables are dying a painful, not-fresh death in the back of my crisper drawer. That soup is a great redeemer of sad vegetables."
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/winter-minestrone-soup-with-garlic-bruschetta/

Notes 1/31/17:
I made this, without spinach, and added a head of cauliflower and a yellow squash. Plus the other vegetables were more 2 cups instead of 1.5 cups. It made nearly 8 quarts. It is so delicious though! I think the sweetness of the butternut squash is what really makes it so tasty for me. And the pesto is a must.

Lisa suggests removing and freezing half the soup before you add pasta, then when you thaw it you can add the pasta then and cook a bit more. I think this keeps the pasta from breaking down since it does not freeze well.

Notes 2/28/17:
I made this with leftover christmas ham. It was amazing. I added a whole cauliflower again, and 1 cup tomato sauce (or puree...it was home canned and was a bit thick). Also I used my food processor to slice most of the vegetables and squash, and added spinach this time. It was great again!