Spicy Lasagna Soup, perfect for cold evenings...

I combined Half Baked Harvest's Lasagna soup with Carlsbad Cravings Lasagna Soup and came up with a wonderful variation.  Carlsbad Craving's recipe calls for you to break lasagna noodles in half and simmer  in the soup.  Well, have you ever tried breaking dry lasagna noodles?  All they do is fly all over the kitchen and break unevenly.  So then I found Half Baked Harvest's recipe and Tieghan called for cooking the lasagna noodles separately, then cutting them into manageable pieces because they are pliable after you cook them.  That made a lot more sense to me, and it was much easier.  Anyway, this is my variation of both of their recipes for an excellent cold winter evening soup, full of all the lasagna goodness we all love so much.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef 
1 yellow onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 24 oz. jar Prego Traditional Italian Sauce or marinara sauce
6 cups chicken broth - I use a big tablespoon of Chicken Better than Bouillon instead of chicken broth
1 14 oz. can can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried oregano, salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 whole bay leaf
8-10 oz. cooked lasagna noodles
1/2 cup heavy cream,optional**

CHEESE GARNISH:

shredded mozzarella cheese
freshly finely grated Parmesan cheese
ricotta cheese, whipped

Steps

Heat large Dutch oven/large soup pot over medium high heat. Add beef and onion and cook, stirring occasionally until beef is browned. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds. Drain off any excess fat.

Add Prego Sauce, 6 cups chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally (approximately 20-30 minutes).

 Discard bay leaf and stir in cooked lasagna noodles and heavy cream (optional).  Garnish individual servings with desired amount of cheeses.

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