Lasagna Soup on a Cold & Windy Day

Over the past 24 hours we have had close to 3 1/2" of rain! The good thing is that the temperature never got super low so we aren't worrying about the state of our livestock like we have in certain previous situations. My mind can't help but float back almost a year ago to Storm Atlas. That storm made us all gun shy. Every time there is an impending storm it causes us to become uneasy (well, it does for us at least). It is hard not to have that reaction after what happened. I'm happy to say that the worst of our worries right now is the gumbo mud. We were under a flood watch also, but that turned out to be nothing. Let me just say that I'm super happy this storm came now and not later. We are scheduled to ship our calves on Monday and then we will be preg checking our cows the next day. Images of my dad dragging out the cattle pots last fall are all too vivid in my mind. I'll take a little dust on Monday as well as in the few proceeding days if need be. The more dust.....the more certain we are that our trucks will get out of here. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not cussing the moisture. We needed it!

I'm happy to be in the house for a few days. I had some baking to do for our upcoming busy days. The mud has afforded me the luxury of spending some time in the kitchen. Yesterday I made Molasses Cookies (or Ginger Snaps as some folks call them). I also made the dough for Crispies (which I will finish later today). Today, I decided that a new soup was in order. The wind is absolutely howling outside.....and I mean HOWLING!!!! Perhaps it's good that it is as it will dry some of the mud up, but holy cow!!!

A new soup.....hmmmmm.....what could that be? I know.....I had stumbled upon a Lasagna Soup recipe some time ago and hadn't made it yet. Here comes the fun part though....seeing if I had everything to make it. I hadn't gotten groceries for almost a week and we had company......my supplies had dwindled. I started looking around and decided I could substitute an item or two and then I decided to make the recipe the way I wanted to.....imagine that. :)

So, here goes.....my version of.......

Lasagna Soup

• 8 ounces Lasagna Noodles, broken into pieces (about 10 noodles)

• 1 TB Olive Oil

• Salt & Pepper

• 1 TB Sugar

• 1 ½ lbs. Ground Beef

• 1 onion, chopped

• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced

• 1 TB. Oregano

• 1 TB. Basil

• 1 TB. Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

• 1 tsp. Garlic Salt

• 1 TB. Italian Seasoning

• 1 small can of Tomato Paste

• 1 large can of Crushed Tomatoes

• 4 cups of beef broth

• ½ cup Heavy Cream or Half & Half

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook as the label directs.

Drain; drizzle with olive oil and toss. *I used half a box of Ziti and half a box of Bowtie pasta. Don’t judge….I live way out in the country.* :)

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef with onion over medium heat.

Add the garlic, oregano, and basil after a few minutes continuing to cook, stirring and breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until browned.

Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and beef broth.

Cover, and bring to a simmer. Uncover and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the noodles and heavy cream.

Simmer 2 more minutes. Serve.

I can't believe I haven't made this soup before. It's delicious and definitely was needed on a day such as this. Hope you give it a try! :)

~Cheyenne