Lasagna Soup
My Great Grandmother, Arizona Henry, always used food sparingly. She saved all her broken lasagna noodles for soup. She lived through the Great Depression, which made her thrifty with meals. She loved anything made with her home-canned tomatoes, including lasagna soup.
My grandma lived to be 100 years old, which I credit to her eating home-canned tomatoes all year. Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Tomatoes have been credited for heart health, cancer prevention, and skin health. I eat tomatoes and think of my grandma.
Lasagna Soup
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
1 large chopped onion
3 tbsp. butter
4 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1- 24 oz. jar marinara sauce
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
7 cups chicken broth
9 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
- In a large pot, cook ground beef and sausage until browned.
- Drain grease.
- Sauté onions and minced garlic.
- Stir in tomato paste, marinara sauce, spices, and broth.
- Return meat to pot.
- Bring to a boil, then add broken lasagna noodles to the pot.
- Cook until the noodles are soft.
Topping
10 ounces ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- In a small bowl, mix mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta cheeses.
- Serve soup with a scoop of cheese mixture on top.
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.
