New Blog Post: Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup

Ready to start cooking? [View online] Recent Articles | [Creamy Pesto Mac with Spinach] | [Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls] | [Weekly Recap 2/26-3/3] | [Pesto Hummus] | [Chana Aloo Masala (Chickpea and Potato Masala)] Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup I was in the mood for lasagna this week, but it’s already in the 80’s here in New Orleans, so I decided to make a lasagna soup instead of a classic baked lasagna. Lasagna soup is great because you get all the fantastic flavors of lasagna without it being quite so heavy. To lighten things up even further, I made a vegetarian version chock full of vegetables, like tomato, onion, carrot, zucchini, and spinach. So what makes this a Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup and not just a tomato based vegetable soup? It’s not just the broken up lasagna noodles, it’s also the dollop of three cheese ricotta blend that hides in the bottom of each bowl. This melty cache of cheese mimics the creamy filling of classic lasagna and really brings everything together. Want to do a meat lasagna soup? No problem. Just brown up 1/2 lb. Italian sausage in the pot before adding the onion and garlic in the first step below. Because Italian sausage is already packed full of delicious Italian seasonings, you can also cut the amount of Italian herb blend listed below in half. Not a fan of the vegetables I used? There are a few other vegetables that I think would also go well in this soup, like sliced mushrooms, summer squash, or broccoli florets. Use any combo that fits your taste buds, just try to keep the number of vegetables used to 3-4 so the lasagna flavor doesn’t get over shadowed. Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup [Garden Vegetable Lasagna soup with a colorful vegetable medley and a melty three cheese ricotta blend in each bowl - BudgetBytes.com] Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup [Save] [Print] Prep time 10 mins Cook time 35 mins Total time 45 mins Author: Inspired by [A Farm Girl Dabbles] Total Cost: $9.92 Cost Per Serving: $1.65 Serves: 6-8 (makes approx 9 cups) Ingredients SOUP - 1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16 - 1 yellow onion $0.40 - 4 cloves garlic $0.32 - 2 carrots $0.24 - 1 zucchini (1/2 lb.) $0.77 - 15oz. can diced tomatoes $0.65 - 15oz. can tomato sauce $0.70 - 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend $0.30 - 4 cups vegetable broth $0.52* - 8oz. lasagna noodles $0.95 - ¼ lb. frozen spinach $0.40 THREE CHEESE RICOTTA BLEND - 15oz. ricotta $2.99 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided $1.00 - ¼ cup Parmesan (grated or shredded) $0.48 - ⅛ tsp salt $0.01 - Freshly cracked pepper $0.03 Instructions - Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large soup pot along with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about 3-5 minutes). - While the onions and garlic are sautéing, peel and slice the carrots. Slice the zucchini and then cut the slices into quarter rounds. Add the carrots and zucchini to the pot and sauté for about 2 minutes more, or just until the zucchini begin to soften. - Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), tomato sauce, Italian seasoning blend, and vegetable broth to the soup pot. Stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the pot to a boil. - While waiting for the pot to boil, break the lasagna noodles into 1-inch pieces. Once the soup is boiling, add the broken lasagna noodles and continue to boil for 10-12 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. - While the pasta is boiling in the soup, combine the ricotta cheese, ½ cup shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a bowl (save the other half of the mozzarella for topping the soup bowls). Stir until the cheeses and seasonings are well combined. - Once the pasta is tender, add the frozen spinach and stir until the spinach is thawed and mixed well into the soup. - To serve, place a dollop of the cheese blend in each bowl, then ladle the hot soup over top. Add a pinch of the remaining shredded mozzarella on top. Notes *I use Better Than Bouillon brand soup base to make my broth. 3.4.3177 [Garden Vegetable Lasagna soup with a colorful vegetable medley and a melty three cheese ricotta blend in each bowl - BudgetBytes.com][Garden Vegetable Lasagna soup with a colorful vegetable medley and a melty three cheese ricotta blend in each bowl - BudgetBytes.com] Step by Step Photos [Sauté Onion and Garlic]Dice one yellow onion and mince four cloves of garlic. Sauté both in a large soup pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent. [Sauté Zucchini and Carrot ]While the onion and garlic are sautéing, peel and slice two carrots. Slice one zucchini (about 1/2 lb.) and then cut the slices into quarter rounds. Add the carrots and zucchini to the pot and sauté for just a couple minutes more, or until the zucchini begin to soften. They’ll cook further while the soup is boiling. [Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce]Add one 15oz. can of diced tomatoes (with juices), one 15oz. can of tomato sauce, and 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning blend. For more flavor, you can use fire roasted diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with onion, garlic, and basil seasoning already in the can. [Italian Seasoning Blend]I’m usually not that into pre-mixed spice blends, but for something like Italian seasoning blend that is just SO versatile, it’s easier to buy one bottle of this for $2.79 than to buy each of the six spices and measure each one out every time. I use this for pasta, pizza, and many, many other things. [Vegetable Broth]Add four cups of vegetable broth and stir everything to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. [Broken Lasagna Noodles]While waiting for the soup to boil, break 1/2 lb. of lasagna noodles into 1-inch pieces. The pieces will get larger when they’re cooked, so you want them slightly smaller than you’d think. [Boiled Noodles]Once the soup is boiling, add the broken lasagna noodles and let them boil for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re tender. Stir occasionally while boiling to prevent the pasta from sticking. If your soup becomes too thick from the pasta, just add some water or more vegetable broth. [Add Frozen Spinach]Finally, add 1/4 lb. (4oz.) frozen spinach to the soup and stir until it’s thawed and well mixed in. When buying the frozen spinach, look for the type that says “cut spinach” rather than “chopped spinach”. Chopped spinach will be in teeny tiny pieces and won’t be quite as pretty as the cut spinach. This spinach comes loose in a bag, so I just estimated 1/4 of the 1 lb. bag. [Heat Through]The frozen spinach probably won’t bring the temp of the soup down too much, but if it does, just let it warm back up for a second. [Three Cheeses]Meanwhile, make the delicious three cheese ricotta blend. Stir together one 15oz. container ricotta with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (save the other 1/2 cup mozz for topping the soup), and 1/4 cup shredded or grated Parmesan. Also add 1/8 tsp salt and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir them all together. [Add Three Cheese Ricotta Blend to the bowl]To serve the Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup, start with a dollop of the three cheese ricotta blend. There should be about 2 cups of the cheese blend, so you can use up to 1/3 cup in each bowl. That seems like a lot to me, so I stick to around 1/4 cup. [Garden Vegetable Lasagna soup with a colorful vegetable medley and a melty three cheese ricotta blend in each bowl - BudgetBytes.com]Ladle the soup over top, add a pinch of the remaining shredded mozzarella on top, and then go, “Oooooh-Ahhhh!” I added a little chopped parsley for color and photographic styling, but it’s not necessary. This Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup is amaze-balls all on its own! [Garden Vegetable Lasagna soup with a colorful vegetable medley and a melty three cheese ricotta blend in each bowl - BudgetBytes.com] The post [Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup] appeared first on [Budget Bytes]. [Image] HI! I'M BETH As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. My stomach is full and my wallet is too. [Read More »] [Image] BETH'S COOKBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! The long awaited Budget Bytes: Over 100 Easy, Delicious Recipes to Slash Your Grocery Bill in Half is now available for purchase! [Get the book »] Your receiving this email because you opted to subscribe to receive new blog posts by email. [Unsubscribe] | [Update your profile] | Copyright © {!global_year} All rights reserved. PO BOX 791399 New Orleans LA 70179-1399 USA [Unsubscribe] | [Change Subscriber Options]