January is National Soup Month and THIS is a great one! This is a recipe I found that I have tweaked it a bit. (of course) An option is to make it with spaghetti sauce instead of all the individual ingredients and it was good. But…taking a little extra time to do it with the individual ingredients makes it even better! This is a YUMMY comfort-food soup! MMmm.
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped (I use onion powder)
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I use half)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth (I use low sodium)
2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles (I added 1/2 cup more)
1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
In a large pot, combine ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.
(at this point, you can put everything in your crockpot on low and cook for 5 hours. Put the Parmesan cheese in for the last hour, then continue to the last step, if desired)
Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, basil and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls (or a deep round casserole). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly.
Thanks, Nancy for this photo! She combines shredded and cubed hash browns in hers.
