Recipe: Lasagna Soup

Mike loves my homemade lasagna! Even saying that, it's an understatement. If I let him he'd eat the whole dish himself in one sitting...

So, with the weather getting colder, I decided to make this recipe. It would be a fun, different and good meal to keep warm during the winter. It was pretty easy to make, and was very tasty! I think Mike liked it enough to have it again.

For leftover purposes, I cooked the noodles separately and placed them in the fridge separately as well.

So, here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (I used one pound)
3 cups chopped onion (I used 2 onions, because that's all I had!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
28 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes (I ended up getting 2 14.5 oz cans)
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 ounces mafalda or fusilli pasta (I used fusilli and it was tough to find!)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I didn't use any as I couldn't get any here)
salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese:

8 ounces ricotta cheese (I used 15oz for "Mike Portions")
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I used a cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper

additional cheese factor, get 2 cups of mozzarella

Brown sausage. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato paste, stirring well to incorporate. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until it looks like a rust red color.
Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add pasta and cook until al dente.* Do not overcook the pasta as it will get mushy and absorb the broth.
Right before serving, add the fresh basil, if using, and salt and pepper.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese in a separate bowl.

To serve, add a dollop of the cheese mixture in each bowl and sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Ladle soup over cheese and enjoy!

Note*: If you are not wanting mushy pasta, or are wanting to keep some for leftovers, I would recommend cooking the pasta separately. When you serve, add some noodles into the bowl, before adding the rest of the ingredients, such as the cheese and soup. When you go to put them away in the fridge, put them in separate containers, as it will still soak up the broth and become mushy.