Pasta e Fagioli

I love me some Olive Garden, but I'm not willing to drive 30 minutes and spend the $50 for our family to eat there very often, so besides the Zuppa Tuscana, this is our other copycat soup that we love from there. Enjoy!

 

Pasta e Fagioli (from Olive Garden)

From Farm Girl in the Suburbs

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart of tomatoes (or 2 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes)

1 15-oz. can red kidney beans (w/ liquid)

1 15-oz. can Great Northern Beans (w/ liquid)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

1 T. white vinegar

1 ½ t. salt

1 t. oregano

1 t. basil

½ t. pepper

½ t. thyme

½ lb. Ditali pasta

1.  Brown the ground beef in a large stock pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat.

2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often.

4. At 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain the pasta and add to the pot of soup.

5. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna Soup

This recipe could have and should have gone terribly wrong since I had to substitute ground beef for italian sausage, beef broth for chicken stock, etc.  It was still really good, so I'm looking forward to using the right ingredients next time.  And I will say that it tastes just like lasagna and the cheesy yum is what puts it over the top.

Lasagna Soup

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Baked Potato Soup

Original recipe found here.

BAKED POTATO SOUP
(Mindi Original)

½ white onion; finely diced
1 clove garlic; minced
2 T. butter
32 oz. chicken stock
¾ - 1 oz. fresh chives; diced
4 large russet potato’s; baked (or 8 small, fist size potatoes)
salt & pepper
1 C. sour cream
Cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon & sour cream

1. In a large stock pot, melt the butter. Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the stock and chives and bring to a simmer.
3. Roughly dice or chop the baked potato’s leaving the skins on.
4. Add the potato’s to the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. The potatoes should fall apart leaving some chucks, but also thickening the soup.
5. Season generously with salt & pepper to taste.
6. Add the sour cream and continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
7. Serve topped with cheese, bacon and sour cream as desired.

Zuppa Tuscana

Andy's favorite soup!

Zuppa Tuscana

1 lb ground sausage (regular or spicy)
3 large red potatoes, sliced in half and then sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bunch kale, chopped
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (*see note)

Brown sausage in large soup pot. Remove sausage and set aside. To the pot add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, and garlic and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cream and sausage to the pot and warm through. (Do not boil) Add kale several minutes before serving. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Delicious!!
* If using spicy sausage, you may want to omit the red pepper flakes…unless you like eating fire!