Taste Test Tuesday- Lasagna Soup

I love a good soup, and this soup definitely fits the bill. Wes, on the other hand, likes soup but to him, it is defnitely not a meal! So, when I find a soup that is hearty, I always get excited to try it and see if it can pass off as a meal. This one was perfect. And super yummy. Wes gives it two thumbs up!

The Ingredients

The Recipe:

1 tsp Olive Oil

1/2 lb hamburger or Italian sausage

1 onions, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you're using hot sausage)

1 T tomato paste

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 bay leave

4 ounces rotini noodles (any kind will work)

1/4 cup fresh basil (don't use this much if you are using dried)

4 ounces ricotta

1/4 c grated parmesan (I used the shake kind)

1/8 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

1 cups of mozzarella

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the sausage or hamburger and saute, breaking it up into small pieces until no longer pink. Drain off excess grease.

2. Add the onions and saute until softened, about six minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.

3. Add the tomato paste and saute until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaf and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Add the pasta and increase heat to medium high and boil the soup until pasta is tender. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the basil.

5. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper. To serve, place 1 1/2 T of ricotta mixture in each bowl, ladle soup on and then top with mozzarella.

Serves 4.

Here's my new pan I got for Christmas. Ain't she a beaut??

This is what the soup will look like before you add the noodles.

This is the ricotta mixture that you put in the bowls first.

Here's the yummy finished product.