Soup it Up

Wednesday, November 28, 2012


There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can.

Laurie Colwin

(In the process of wolfing it down I almost forgot to take a picture!)

The older I get, the soupier I get. I mean, I'm really loving soup more and more. This fall I've tried several tasty new recipes...and am really warming up to this soup thing. I'm so punny.

One of my great discoveries is Paula Deen's Tastes Like Lasagna Soup. Well, her son's lighter version anyway. I'm not sure how I feel about Bobby overriding his mother in such a fashion; but his hutzpah is our gain. I want Paula Deen to be my mom.

This soup is amazing! I've made it twice now and gotten rave reviews both times. It's easy peasy, healthy, and hearty. I've made some small tweaks to suit our taste...and love it. This bad boy has taken up permanent residency in my recipe binder.

Lighter "Tastes Like Lasagna" Soup

 

Ingredients: 

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into chunks
1/2 tbsp dried basil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)

Directions:
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes. 
Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

 Adapted from Bobby's Lighter Tastes Like Lasagna Soup recipe.

Note: I use half hot turkey sausage and half regular turkey sausage. Then I bag up the remaining 1/2 pound of each and freeze for my next batch. Also, don't omit the crushed red pepper! I'm always afraid things are going to be too spicy, but in this case it is oh-so necessary flavor-wise. And even with the 1/2 pound of spicy sausage, it was quite mild. Finally, the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of fresh basil. I didn't have that, nor did it look very, um, perky in the store, so I opted for dried. I actually like it better.

Enjoy!

Small Things

2 comments :

  1. YUM! Pinning! I can't wait to try this! Thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found you through the blog hop and am your newest follower. I was kinda maybe hopin' that you'd follow me back ;-) !

    Hugs,
    Sarah
    www.enjoyingtheepiphany.com

    ReplyDelete

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