Yummy Weeknight Recipe

Yesterday was cold. I mean really cold for Chattanooga, Tennessee. I don’t love cold weather, but I sure do LOVE this time of year. The cold weather, mixed with holiday decorations and the girls coming home from school with their laughter and talk about school…I want to bottle up these nights. They remind me of my own childhood and they just feel like the magic of childhood.

I made a new recipe my family would all enjoy. Matthew loves anything with ground beef, Caroline loves anything with parmesan cheese, and Sarah loves anything with pasta! It was a lazy lasagna soup recipe I modified a little to make it not too spicy for the girls and lightened it a little too. If you’re in a cooking rut, I highly recommend making this quick soup and throw together a salad (we like avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes tossed in Italian), and you have a fun family night dinner, ready to hear all about the school day and sports!

Lazy Lasagna Soup

1 pound 90% lean round beef

1 cup chopped white onion

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups unsalted organic chicken stock

1 (14.5 oz) can unsalted crushed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2 teaspoons freshly chopped oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles, broken (Sarah likes to do this for me)

1/4 organic half-and-half

1/4 cup shredded organic mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Step 1

Cook ground beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stirring until browned. Set aside in bowl. Cook onions over high heat until translucent. In a pasta pot, cook lasagna noodles and also set aside.

Step 2

In a large pot, pour chicken stock, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Now slowly stir in the ground beef and onions. Slowly add the shredded cheese, half and half, and half of the basil. Slowly stir in noodles and cook about 10 minutes all together to marry all the flavors together.

Step 3

Divide soup among bowls and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese and the other half of the chopped basil leaves. Serve and enjoy!