{ Easy: Lasagna Soup }

I'm sure you've seen many recipes for Lasagna Soup, but I'm here to help. I've simplified those recipes with numerous ingredients and spices into something you can whip together quickly and easily on a busy weeknight.

Lasagna soup, if you don't already know, tastes almost exactly like lasagna, except in a rich, thick soup form. Is good.

You'll need pretty basic pantry ingredients: tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, chicken stock, etc. You won't need container after container of different spices, just salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.

This soup will come together quickly and easily. You can brown your burger in the soup pan, then add all the ingredients in, making this a one pot clean up.

This soup is great for these fall (and yet to come winter) dinners. It is a warm, delicious comfort food great for chilly nights.

Add a salad and some garlic bread and you have an easy, hearty meal

Soups on!








Lasagna Soup
By Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1 pound ground beef
8 Cups chicken broth
1 Large Can (28oz) Crushed Tomato
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
10 Lasagna Noodles, broken into small pieces (or other pasta) 
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Small onion, finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning
Ricotta, shredded parmesan & shredded mozzarella cheeses

In a large pan, brown burger for about 5 minutes. Add in chopped onion and cook for approx another 5 minutes until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are soft. When cooked, drain excess grease from meat.

To the pot add: chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and spices and cook at medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add pasta and allow to cook on low until al dente.

Ladle into bowls and top with ricotta, shredded parmesan & mozzarella cheeses.

{ Cheesy Potato Soup }

I know what you are thinking.

I'm posting a soup recipe in June. 

You are thinking I've gone off the deep edge.

Note: this is not going off the deep end, or off the edge. This. is different.

However:

A. It's been in the 50s & 60s here! What??

(95 to  58 in the space of 4 days is not cool, man. Not cool. Actually, it is technically quite cool though, and therein lies the problem).

B. I've never understood the concept of not eating soup in the summer. I mean, hamburgers are hot, we eat those in the summer. Lasanga is hot, we eat it in the summer. Pork Chops are hot, we eat those in the summer... and so on.

Poor soup gets a bad rap.

I think we should celebrate soup and eat it year round!

GO SOUP!

I've been asked for the recipe for this soup often. Like, very often.

Problem?

I don't use a recipe. This makes giving a recipe more difficult.

I've been making this soup for something like 132 years. Yes, it started from a recipe in a community book. Do you know what I mean? Where an organization pulls recipes together, sends them off to a printer and then sells them as a fundraiser? They are way common here in rural 'Merica.

I have no idea what book it came from, and I can say for certain that over the years, this has very much become my own recipe.

The other night when I was making it, I decided to measure things (gasp!) and write them down for you (double gasp!).

This is the result.

This recipe uses a lot of potatoes. You can use less, up to you.

My husband's grandmother tells about how her brother in law used to call her sister's potato soup "Huntin' Soup". See, he had to hunt for the potatoes. We don't want that to happen here. Unless, you know, you LIKE hunting for your potatoes.

Warning- this is a LARGE recipe. Great for big families or leftovers. Or you could halve it, if you feel the need. This is easily 3 meals for my family of 3.

Here we go:

Tina's Cheesy Potato Soup

8 Cups Water 
(salted to taste, remembering your bouillion & cheeses will be salty)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/4 cup diced onion

Butter (to taste)

2 teaspoons of powdered chicken bouillon

(or 1 can of chicken broth. If you use this, only use 7 cups of water)

Stir together in a large pot.

Add in 3-4 cups peeled, diced potatoes (depending on how many potatoes you want in your soup)

Bring to a boil, turn to medium, and let boil until potatoes are tender.

Once they are tender, add 1/4 cup flour to 1 cup water in a small bowl/measuring cup/etc. Mix together until smooth. Slowly pour this into your soup. 

You can use more/less flour. This will make your soup thick and hearty. 

Turn the heat down. This is where we add in the cheese. Do not let boil after the cheese is added.

We are all about high quality here, so add in 

2-3 cups of processed cheese food (aka Velveeta)

this photo is deceptive, but I used about 2 1/2 cups

 Feel free to use other cheese, but I have tried the lot and always end up back at Velveeta.

After that is melted, I throw in a couple handfuls of whatever cheeses I have in the fridge.

Here I used Mozzerella & Mild Cheddar.

Let melt.

This is most delicious with toppings of green onion, crumbled bacon, sour cream, and more cheese.

Sadly, I'm the only one in the house who thinks so.

Just cheese it is.

Serve this up with a salad, my Red Lobster Clone Biscuits or a nice crusty bread & it's a tasty meal.

And yes, even in the summertime.

Tina

Easy, squeezy printable here.

{Chicken Tortilla Soup. Amen}

After 5 days of vacation, and 5 days of eating out, it was good to get home and prepare my own food.

It should seriously be illegal to eat out that often.

So, what did I make 2 hours after returning home?

Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Om. nom.

I’ll get back to the yummies in a minute.

So, how was my vacation?

Wet.

It rained, every. single. day. all. day.

argh.

We made the best of it. We were soaked, we were chilled, we paid $15 for an umbrella that broke within 2 hours.

But, we had fun.

Even if our fingers did turn pruney.

For a minute there, I thought I was Forrest Gump. Remember when he said, “One day it started raining, and it didn`t quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin` rain... and big ol` fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.”  

Yeah, it wasn’t four months for us…. but it felt like it.

The Bean took this photo that I really like.

I love the line of umbrellas reflected in it.

Anyway, in case I haven’t made it clear- it rained.

So, naturally, soup seemed like the best thing to make upon arriving back home. Something I’d been craving all week.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 cups water
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
1 cup diced onions

Throw all of this into a pot and cook until chicken is done. Remove chicken and shred, place back into pot along with:

1 can diced tomatoes OR crushed tomatoes (depending on how chunky you want your soup- I use diced)
1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (4 oz) green chilies (optional)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can chicken broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (optional)

Bring to boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Check seasonings. Add more to taste.

To one cup water, add 3 Tablespoons flour. Whisk well. Slowly pour into soup to thicken. Allow to simmer another 15-20 minutes.

Top with your choice of the following:

sour cream
guacamole
diced onion
jalapenos
shredded cheese
tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips
salsa

It’s seriously pretty too with all it’s colors.

A fest for the eyes.

And the belly.

Amen.

Tina

Print Me!

Shared on EMM's Church Suppers for 9/18/11