Lasagna Soup should be a food group!

So let me first start by saying I am horrible New Years Resolutioner! I said I would update my blog more often and lookie here it's April 5th. Seriously Barbie could you be a bigger slacker. My answer is YES!

I love soup! It's no shocker considering I have an entire binder of just soup recipes and a folder in my favorites dedicated to soup.

In my random internet blog search I found not only an amazing soup recipe I found a SUPER amazing blog. I always admire these folks who have entry after entry and all these great features. How do they do that? Between work, the gym and being my fabulous self I don't have enough time in the day! Please I need to know your secret!

So check out A Farm Girls Dabbles (http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/) and you will probably print and or save a million of her entries like I did and run out of paper and ink!

I only changed 2 things about this recipe... I used 1 lb mild Italian sausage and 1/2 lb hot and I just used lasagna noodles. I put them in a big zip lock and gave them a lil smash with the bottom of a small sauce pan aahaha. Hey it seemed like the right thing to do and it worked.

By suggestion I cooked the noodles separately and added them to the soup after so they would not absorb the broth.

I know soup is mainly a fall winter thing but it couldn't hurt to make a pot of this and keep it in the freezer for the chili rainy summer days. You know the ones where you sit around and watch horrible made for TV movies and documentaries all day thinking about all the things you SHOULD be doing!

With all that rambling....

ENJOY and Keep on Making Stuff!

Lasagna Soup
Click here for the blog entry I got this from (http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/)

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not overcook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.