Lasagna Soup

With fall finally getting its grasp on us, I want nothing more than to relax on gloomy days and warm up with a bowl of soup. When I'm not too exhausted, I like to make my own soups from scratch. I found a recipe a while ago for lasagna soup but never got around to making it. It actually ended up in a pile in my closet of old recipes I wanted to test out but never did. While at the store the other day I found these:

Most people would look at these noodles and wonder what to do with them. My mind went straight to lasagna soup! These noodles could not be more perfect or easier to use. Lasagna soup recipes call for, well, lasagna noodles. You can't cook the entire noodle though, it needs to be broken up and then put in the soup. These noodles on the other hand are already broken and require no work other than tossing them in the pot.

My plan was to make this soup for dinner but I got anxious and made it for lunch instead...then ate more again for dinner. I'm sure you will understand my impatience just by looking at the ingredients. 

Lasagna Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb Italian pork and chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (32-ounce) container reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 8 ounces Pantacce pasta
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
• Reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick Dutch oven. Add sausage (breaking it up into small pieces with your hands), onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook until sausage is browned and onions are translucent (8 minutes). 

Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add noodles and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until noodles are cooked through (10-12 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. Top with mozzarella cheese and serve with toasted French bread. 

Recipe adapted from: Deen Bros