Sunday, October 23, 2011

Better than Lasagna Soup

Every once in a while, I'm incredibly proud of myself!  This is one of those times!  LOL  This soup was seriously amazing!  I mean, there's not a whole lot else to say, except this soup is BETTER THAN LASAGNA!  Hence, the name!

This soup could easily be turned into Vegetarian Lasagna by replacing the beef and chicken bouillon cubes with vegetable broth and replacing the ground beef with zucchini, carrots, spinach and peppers.  So, don't let the meat here deter you!  I think you'll still find this soup amazing!

Oh, and please don't be deterred by the longish list of ingredients!  It assembles itself extremely quickly!  Best of all.....you don't have to cook the ground beef ahead of time!!!!  Whoo hoo!

Ok, I'm getting right to it!!!!

Better than Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 10 3/4oz. can Condensed Tomato Soup (If you are gluten-free, do not use this!  Instead, use the cream of soup base from my cookbook to make Cream of Tomato Soup)
1 14.5oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 15oz. can Tomato Sauce
2 chicken bouillon cubes (If you're gluten-free, make sure these are GF)
2 beef bouillon cubes (If you're gluten-free, make sure these are GF)
4 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 oz. Ricotta Cheese
8 lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces - UNCOOKED (If you're gluten-free, use gluten-free noodles)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
In your crock, combine onions, tomato soup, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add all of the spices and bouillon cubes.

Next, add the water.

Crumble your RAW ground beef evenly all around!

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
The last half hour or so, stir in the Ricotta cheese and sprinkle your broken up UNCOOKED lasagna noodle pieces all around.

Serve with Mozzarella Cheese sprinkled on top.
Enjoy!

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33 comments:

  1. Why do you use chicken bouillon cubes instead of just 4 beef ones?

    Looks yummy and easy.... may try this. Would it work well putting it together the night before and laving it in the fridge til morning?

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  2. Replies
    1. I cant see how lasagne noodles would cook with only 1/2 hour in crock.pot??

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    2. They're cooking 7-8 hours, not 1/2 hour. Not sure where you got the half hour from.

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    3. This is your sentence in the recipe. NOW-do they just cook for the last 1/2 hour or longer???
      The last half hour or so, stir in the Ricotta cheese and sprinkle your broken up UNCOOKED lasagna noodle pieces all around.

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    4. Sorry, I replied to so many posts tonight, I thought I was replying about regular lasagna, not the Lasagna soup! Yes, they cook perfectly in 1/2 hour. If you leave them in longer they will blow up and soak up lots of your broth and be mushy.

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    5. OK thanks for the repy so quickly.

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  3. Jennifer - You can use all chicken and all beef if you want to. I couldn't make up my mind as to which I should use, so I used two of each! LOL

    I think putting it together the night before would be absolutely fine. I might sprinkle in the beef in the morning though.

    Nicole - raw noodles

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    Replies
    1. My mother often mixed chicken and beef cubes when using them for seasoning, to great success.

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  4. what do you think about using cottage cheese instead of ricotta?? not a fan of ricotta and I use cottage cheese when I bake lasagna, so I'm thinking it may be ok?

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  5. Hope not sure if you know, there's a pasta out there called Malfalda (sp) and its small shaped lasagna noodles. So cute they fit on a spoon.

    Do you think those can be substituted,if so, how much? 1/2 pound perhaps?

    Let me know, this is definitely going on my winter soup list. Thanks

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  6. Cottage cheese would work!

    Silly - I had no idea! How cool! :) I would use 1/4 lb. maybe.

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  7. Could you opt out of the ricotta/ cottage cheese all together? I dont put them in when i make mine, or do you need it for flavor?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry I'm just seeing this! It definitely adds flavor, but you can definitely leave it out.

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  8. The crock pot book I have has a recipe for crick pot lasagna. It's awesome so I imagine this is too. I always use cottage cheese and have used crumbles when I was a vegetarian. Good eats!

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  9. I have made this recipe several times. It is a huge hit with the whole family. Thanks

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  10. Your crock pot looks funny. Do you have some kind of plastic bag in it? I've never seen that before!

    My family loves lasagna, but it's so expensive to make! This looks like an economic alternative. Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Most of the time, I line my crock with a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. That's what you see in the pictures.

      Glad you are thinking of making this!

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  11. how would it turn out with COOKED turkey burger? I can't eat alot of red meats due to my diet, but would LOVE to give this a try.

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  12. I don't keep bouillion cubes at home. Would it be possible to substitute cans of broth and finish out with water. Sounds like a yummy recipe and would like to try it.

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    Replies
    1. I don't see why you couldn't use 2 cans of broth. There is about 2 cups per can. That is what I'm using when I make it over the weekend. I wouldn't add any additional water though.

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    2. You can definitely use broth instead of the bouillon cubes.

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  13. Could you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?

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    Replies
    1. Sure! My grandma actually used to always make her lasagna with cottage cheese.

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  14. I would never cook in plastic, too many chemicals leech into food!

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  15. This sounds delicious!! I just printed this and another recipe off to try this week. I've really been slacking on cooking dinner lately...with one kiddo who only wants chicken nuggets or Ramen all the time (and physically gags when he's made to try anything semi-healthy) I get used to just throwing something together last minute.

    I don't have the cheese, but since it's thrown in during the last 30 minutes, I'll have time to go get some! :)

    Do you think I could use some canned pasta sauce in place of the onions, tomatoes, and other seasonings? I already have some in my pantry. :)

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  16. Don't you get a lot of grease in the soup from the ground beef??

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    Replies
    1. It depends on the blend you use. I would go for ground sirloin.

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  17. This sounds delish! I would have liked to Pin it, but I bookmarked it instead.

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