Lasagna Soup

This Lasagna Soup is the best new soup recipe I've tried in a long time so I wanted to post this recipe ASAP.  I absolutely love the flavors of this soup.  The fire roasted tomatoes and hot Italian sausage gives this soup a nice kick.  My friend sent me this recipe from a farmgirl's dabbles, which I did modify for myself.  In case you were wondering, the leftovers are even better.  The flavors in the soup really develop.  Definitely keep the soup and pasta separate so the pasta doesn't get mushy if you store leftovers.   Enjoy this yummy soup - it is a winner! 

Lasagna Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients for the Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 1½ pounds hot Italian sausage (I used 3 links, casings removed.)

1 zucchini, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cans (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock (I used low sodium.)

½ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

8 ounces campanelle pasta (fusilli or rotini would work well too)

Ingredients for the Cheese Topping

8 ounces ricotta

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil.  Add sausage, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces.  Cook until lightly browned.

Add in zucchini and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and tomato paste.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in fire-roasted diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes.  Stir in basil before serving.

Cook pasta separately according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese toping.  In a small bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper.  

To serve, add pasta to a bowl.  Ladle soup over pasta.  Spoon a dollop of cheese topping over soup.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Serves 8.

Autumn Beef Stew

The weather is getting cooler in DC and this Autumn Beef Stew is perfect for a lazy weekend or a hectic weeknight.  This is a slow cooker recipe so you can put this together in the morning and have dinner when you get home from work.  You can even get it all together the night before, put it in the fridge and just start the slow cooker the next morning.  If you are short on time, you can skip the browning of the beef and that would be fine.   I love the flavors of this Autumn Beef Stew, the wine gives it great depth.  If you aren't into the red wine, just add more stock instead.  I also cut the vegetables into larger pieces so they don't get too mushy.  This is a great freezer friendly dish too.  Enjoy!

Autumn Beef Stew

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound beef, cubed

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, diced

2 cups red wine

14 ounces beef stock

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, combine flour, garlic, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Add beef and toss to lightly coat with seasoned flour.

Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat and add oil.  Add beef and cook until lightly browned on each side.  Remove beef from pan.

Add wine and beef stock to deglaze pan.  Stir in minced garlic, thyme and bay leaves.

Place carrots, onion and potato in bottom of slow cooker.  Add in beef.   

Next, pour in wine and beef stock mixture.

Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours.

Optional:  Add in frozen peas 30 minutes before ready to serve.

Serve over rice or egg noodles.