Lasagna Soup

Oh how I love cold weather meals! Stews, soups, casseroles….and how about a casserole soup?? This one comes from Damn Delicious, and is it ever good! It combines the best of lasagna with the warm comforts of soup, without all the fat and calories. Of course, I did tweak it a little. I added some zucchini to the mix--you knew I would, right? ;-)

The recipe did call for a pound of ground Italian sausage, but being that I’m inclined to find ways to eat rich on a shoestring budget, I used two large Italian sausages that I had in the freezer. They were also cooked already, leftovers from a summer meal. All I did was thaw and cut. Works for me. :)

So, let’s get cooking!

Set a pot of water to boiling for the pasta. When it’s cooked al dente, drain and rinse with cold water, setting aside.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. I peel it and have it ready for my handy dandy garlic press when it’s time to sauté. My dad and his wife gave it to me years ago and it’s one of my most used kitchen tool. I hate cleaning it, but love using it. ;)

Dice the zucchini any way you want. This time my assistant chef Megan cut it like cucumbers for a salad.

In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil. If you’re using ground Italian sausage, this is when you’d throw it in to cook, nixing the oil. Otherwise, carry on. ;)

Slice the sausage if you’re using leftover like I did. I cut it into small pieces to spread it further.

Add the chicken stock or broth, the diced tomatoes, and the spices. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Add the zucchini and simmer for another ten minutes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch….oh, wait, never mind. ;-) While that’s cooking, make the topping. Simply mix the ricotta and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl.

When the zucchini has cooked, toss in the sausage and pasta, cooking just to heat through.

Ladle out the soup into bowls and top with about two tablespoons of the topping mixture, adding shredded mozzarella on top. When served, just mix that into the soup and get ready to sigh with the warm fuzzies of gastric contentment. ;)

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Megan cutting zucchini

                 
                   Lasagna Soup

                   8 oz smallish pasta
                       (I used radiatore)
                   1 lb ground Italian sausage
                   1 Tbl oil
                   3 cloves garlic
                   1 Vidalia onion
                   2 small zucchinis
                   6 c chicken stock or broth
                   1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
                   2 tsp oregano 1 tsp black pepper
                   ½ -1 tsp red pepper flakes
                   8 oz ricotta cheese
                   ½  c parmesan cheese
                  1 c or so mozzarella