Lasagna Soup

Yet another dinner idea found via Pinterest (I see a trend continuing in the future) original recipe from A Farm Girl's Dabbles.  This soup was amazing, it really tasted just like lasagna.  It was so warm and comforting, yet it felt like a lightened up version of the original.  So good, I made it again 4 nights later!  The best part was it was so incredibly easy to make compared to lasagna.  If you think about it, there are so many steps involved in lasagna - cook the pasta, cook the meat, make the layers of pasta, meat, sauce, & cheese.  For this soup though, you cook it all in one pot!  I made the recipe pretty identical to hers with just a few small exceptions.  I didn't have enough lasagna noodles, so I added in spaghetti (you could really use any pasta - the second time I made it, I used all penne).  I also added in some mushrooms because I had them.  And when we ate the leftovers the next day I threw in some spinach while it was heating back up on the stove to get in some more veggies.

Ingredients:
1/2 lbs. Italian sausage (I used breakfast sausage because I already had it!)
1/2 large chopped onion
1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
6 c. chicken stock (I used 5 and 1 cup water)
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta (whatever pasta you have will work, whole wheat is best!)
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dried basil)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add mushrooms, 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. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  At this point I just started tasting the broth and added more seasoning to our taste.  I also added a few teaspoons of sugar to sweeten it as well.

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.