Lasagna Soup

It's been beautiful weather in our little valley.  The snow has melted and signs of spring coming are everywhere.  I've been eager for the sunshine and long days.  Much to my surprise, this morning I woke up and found a blanket of white covering my yard for as far as the eye could see.  I thought I'd make it a good day by having some comfort food . . . a warm pot of soup.  So here it is.  I found the original recipe on Pinterest, here is the link:  http://thedeenbros.com      as usual I've tweaked the recipe a little and here is my version of this absolutely delicious soup.  If you like Italian food like lasagna, you're going to love this!  Its a quick and easy way to get your Italian fix.

What you need:

1 pound Italian sausage or Italian turkey sausage

32 ounces chicken broth

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with sweet onions

1/4 cup fresh basil chopped (if you don't have fresh you can use the dry seasoning, about 1 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings

1 green bell pepper diced

1 onion diced

3 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan grated

1/4 to 1/2 cup Mozzarella grated 

5 or 6 lasagna noodles broken into small pieces

(make sure their small they will double in size when cooked)

What to do:

1. Dice bell pepper and onion

2. In large stock pot brown Italian sausage, add diced green peppers and onion and garlic,

 allowing them to cook as sausage is being browned.

3. After above sausage is browned, add chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, 

Italian seasonings and fresh basil finely chopped.  Be sure to taste and add seasonings as desired.

4. Bring to a boil, then add lasagna noodles, turning heat down and allow to simmer for

about 20 minutes or until noodles are tender and ready to eat.

5. Add half of the cheeses and save the other half to garnish the top of each bowl with.

This takes about an hour to fix from beginning to end.  This includes your chopping and dicing time.

Of course, that's using a food processor to help me with the task of chopping my onions, which makes it quick and easy. The amounts of Italian seasonings and basil you add should vary according to your

taste buds, so please be sure to taste and add more if that's what seems good to you. As a side dish with this I fixed a green salad that imitated the Olive Garden salad.  You can purchase their dressing at Sam's Club (we love it at my house). I made an Italian spices and cheeses pull apart. This is super easy and can be found under the breads section of my blog.  Its a great way to have a little bread on the side and quick and easy to put together.  Hope you enjoy this delicious meal!

Just a little side note about using a food processor.  I had mine in a box in the pantry for at least a year before I ever took the time to learn how to use it.  I don't know why stuff like that seems so daunting sometimes.  I finally had the courage to take it out of the box and figure it out.  A little direction reading and some trial and error and it was worked like a charm.  So, if your anything like me and have a food processor that you need to figure out, "just do it".  I promise it will be worth the effort.  Now, I use my food processor all the time and love how it makes chopping, grating, etc. so easy.   You won't regret it!!