Italian Vegetable Stew

This mainly vegetarian stew is chock full of vegetables--including zucchini, green pepper, onion and garlic. The recipe is simple: saute', boil, simmer, and serve. This recipe came from the
"Cooking Light" website.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped green bell pepper, 1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can low-salt chicken broth
(8-oz.) package presliced mushrooms
1 (8-oz.) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (16-oz.) can kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can Italian-cut green beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup (3 oz.) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Directions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add zucchini and next 6 ingredients (zucchini through tomato sauce); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Add kidney beans, green beans, and parsley; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle into 6 bowls; sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with fresh thyme, if desired.