Lasagna Soup

I found this recipe at Live Love Pasta. It sounded good to me and since most of my family likes lasagna, I added it to my list. I made a few minor changes to suit our tastes and simply out of my own laziness.

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Lasagna Soup


Soup:
1 pounds bulk sausage
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 ounces mini lasagna noodles (or noodles of your choice)
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
½ cup fresh baby spinach
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cheese topping:
8 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups Italian cheese

In a large pot, brown sausage over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes, cook for an additional minute. Add the tomato paste and stir well to incorporate.Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock; stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for a bit. Next, add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Remove from heat and stir in basil and spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese mixture. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and Italian cheeses; set aside. To serve, pour the soup into bowls and add a tablespoon or so of the cheese mixture to each bowl.

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I accidentally added too much pasta and it became Lasagna Stew instead of soup, but that's ok, it was still delicious! Easy 5 out of 5 thumbs up! Even my lasagna haters enjoyed it. This is definitely going to become a regular meal in my house. My kids didn't mind the spinach (they usually don't) and I can easily see adding some chopped carrots or zucchini for extra nutritional value.