I think about 6 months ago I posted some pictures of food I wanted to make when it got cold out. 

People, it is cold out.  I feel like I've been transported back to the northern midwest.  Commonly known as Minnesota.  

That's fine though, because it's given me plenty of time to make lots of soup.

Also, I realize that I never actually think when I type.  It's kind of like I'm carrying on this massive dialogue with  myself but my fingers aren't actually thinking about what I'm trying to say.  Which is why flour becomes flower and any use of the word 'there' needs the context around it to try to decide what it actually means.  Correct tense or plural vs. singular is out of the question for anything.

So what I'm really trying to say is that I like talking to myself but since I'm 'blogging' it makes it okay.  Also, when I blog I refer to the 2 people that actually read this as 'people' often.  It's me trying to justify that I'm not actually talking to myself.

Back to soup.  I have 4 different kinds of soup in the freezer because really, when you make soup for 10 but there's only 2 you have a lot leftover.

A recent soup victory was lasagna soup.  I think I pinned it and posted about it 6 months ago and finally got around to making it. (Back in August, I just checked!)

Simply delicious.  Well, really delicious but you get what i mean.

Plus, I think the original person that posted this recipe is also from the upper Midwest.  That means she knows how to cook good, warm food.  It's a necessity there.

I made this exactly as the recipe below indicates but added another 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and used 1 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb of sausage.  Sausage and soup that's too soupy scare me. The changes that I made are reflected below.


Lasagna Soup
By: A Farm Girl Dabbles

• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 3 c. chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 14-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:

• 8 oz. ricotta
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

 Add sausage and ground beef, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes.  Drain excess fat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. (This is what I did.. my noodles always get too mushy in soup otherwise) This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.