| All of the glorious taste of Lasagna in half the time! |
for the soup:
1/4 lb. browned and crumbled, Italian sausage
1/4 lb browned, crumbled ground beef
1 medium chopped onion or 2 TB dried onion flakes
3 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1 8 oz can tomato sauce 1
14-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 or 4 c. chicken stock
1.5 cups mafalda or fusilli pasta [or broken up lasagna noodles]
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy goodness:
8 oz. ricotta
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese [or 1/3 cup of powdered kind from can]
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Heat 1 cup of water [helps separate the fat from the meat for better draining and lower fat content in the soup] in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and ground beef, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes.
Drain meat, then add onions, garlic, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, plus all seasonings. Stir well to incorporate. Add chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. [about 10 minutes]
Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time after this point, as the pasta will get mushy.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy goodness. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and Parmesan.
To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy goodness in each soup bowl, ladle the hot soup over the cheese, then sprinkle some [ read: Generous heaping tower] of the mozzarella on top
Servings: 6-8
** If you are a Spinach lasagna fan , you can certainly add Spinach to this soup—Delicious!**