From the Kitchen: Lasagna Soup

I love lasagna but hate the effort of layering all the pasta, sauce, and cheeses...which inevitably falls apart when I cut into the lasagna, anyway.  A recent snow day provided the perfect opportunity to try out this lasagna soup, which has all of the flavors of lasagna without the assembly effort!

Lasagna Soup

Adapted from Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

Soup:
1 lb ground beef or ground Italian sausage
1 small or 1/2 large onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 5.5 (or 6) ounce can tomato paste
1 3/4 teaspoons dried basil
3/4 teaspoon dried oregnao
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite-sized pieces (err on the small side!)

Topping:
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
8 ounces ricotta cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Directions:

In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef or Italian sausage with the diced onions and garlic.  Drain and discard the fat.  Add the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried herbs, sugar, and fresh parsley.  Simmer for 20 minutes, then salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate pot, prepare the broken lasagna noodles according to the package instructions.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water prior to draining the pasta. 

Add the drained pasta and 1 cup of pasta cooking water to the rest of the soup.  

In a mixing bowl, stir together the mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta cheeses.  

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl; top with a large scoop of the cheese mixture, and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.  Serve immediately while still very hot so the cheese mixture will melt into the soup when stirred.

From the Kitchen: Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Since I've gone back to work, the crockpot has gotten a lot of use.  I can't bring myself to spend time in the kitchen cooking dinner when I get home from work when I'd rather be playing with Carter!  This chicken tortilla soup is one of our staples. If you want a thicker soup (more like a stew), omit the chicken broth.  For a thinner soup, add a 32-ounce carton of chicken broth.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 - 15 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 - 10 oz can of red enchilada sauce

1 - 4 oz can chopped green chilies

1 - 10-oz can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies

1/2 white onion, diced

½ zucchini, sliced

½ yellow squash, sliced

1 cup frozen or canned corn

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Optional: 1 – 32-oz carton chicken broth

Optional toppings:

Cilantro

Shredded cheese

Tortilla strips

Diced avocado

Sour cream

Directions:

      Put all ingredients (other than the toppings) into a large crockpot (mine is 7 quarts). Cook for 6 to 8 hours on low or 3-to 4 on high.  Remove the chicken breasts from the crockpot and shred with 2 forks; return to crock pot.  Serve, adding toppings as desired.

     If you want to make this ahead of time as a freezer meal, put all of the ingredients except the chicken broth in a zip-top freezer bag.  When ready to make, slightly thaw the bag enough to break the soup into large chunks.  Place in the crockpot, add chicken broth, and follow the cooking directions above.