The Best Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup

Today, I'll be sharing with you a family recipe for the best three cheese lasagna soup. I love recipes that aren't super time-consuming. 

Being a mom, anything that saves you time is a life saver. Plus, this isn't a very spicy recipe and my kids loved it just as much as the adults did. We made it for our small group for church.

 However, we all had to try a little bowl before serving it. I'm very happy with the results and hopefully, it will become a new family favorite for you and yours as well. 

The Best Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

19 oz ground Italian sausage, hot or mild. 
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1/2 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 Tsp. onion powder
1/2 Tsp. kosher salt
1/2 black pepper
8 oz dried campanelle pasta (Bell Shape)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 basil leaves, chopped fine

Directions:

In a large skillet over high heat, brown sausage. Making sure to break apart into small bite size pieces, until fully cooked or no pink is left. Drain well. 

In a large (12 quart) pot over medium heat add tomatoes, paste, sauce, seasonings, onion powder, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Once sausage is done, add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. 

We cooked our pasta in a separate pot and was unable to find the campanelle shells, so we used two boxes of DaVinci signature tortellini which is a tomato & three cheese filled pasta. Two boxes because we wanted to double the recipe. You'd just be using one box if not doubling. 

 Once water is boiling add pasta, cook uncovered, until it is al dente or about 7-9 minutes. Turn of heat and drain. 

Once our sausage mixture was boiling we transferred that to the crock pot and separated the liquid from the sausage mix. Added enough juice to fill the crock pot and discarded the rest. 

Then added our sausage mix and pasta. We did it this way because we didn't want a real soupy mix. We wanted it to have equal amounts of liquid to sausage mix ratio. 

Once in the crock pot, we added the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Stir well to combine.

Sprinkle top with freshly chopped basil leaves and enjoy. 

Serve with warm Artisan bread, sliced and homemade garlic butter.

My attempt at a Gas Station Burrito.

We have this gas station near our house and literally there are tons of people, in line everyday for these burritos. They are a little hot and spicy, which normally is not my thing but they are so good. It's like this thick meat, sauce thing, with peppers and believe it or not...they don't have any cheese. I know...get out, right? Trust me they are fabulous.

 So of course, I thought to myself....I can do this. I don't know if you're like me but I am always taking food ideas and giving it a try. It's fun and most of the time I feel mine is better. Ha!

This still does need some tweaking but all in all they were very good. I did end up adding cheese and sour cream to mine. Which real made it even better, to me. You may just like it without.

First is the ingredients, I ran down to the local grocery store and picked up some:

 Some spices I used are, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic salt, chopped onions, ground pepper and Mexican oregano.

2 Jalapenos
2 Small Tomatoes
1 Large Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
3 Tomatillos
2 packs Thinly Cut Steak
3 New Mexican Chile's (soaked in water to soften)

What I did first was wash all the veggies and then sliced then in half, except the garlic cloves. I place those cut pieces on a greased pizza pan or you can use a cookie sheet. If you'd like to use a grill, you can do so as well.

 Be sure to salt and pepper all the veggies before roasting. It helps release more of their natural flavors. If you want your sauce even hotter, then leave the seeds in the peppers and jalapenos. The seeds add the heat!

Place in oven at 450 degrees for 10-20 mins and watch them. You just want them a little bit blacked but not too much or your sauce will come out bitter.

 Roasted and done. Could have gotten them a little bit darker. Next time, I'll let them go a tab longer.

Next, I chopped up the steak in small pieces and browned that in the frying pan. I added salt and pepper to that as well.

For the sauce, I used my blender and added all those nicely toasted veggies into the blender to blend. 

After everything is blended well, you'll have something like this. 

Next I get out the old crock pot and place my cooked meat inside and cover with the red sauce we just made. Turn that baby on high and simmer for hours. I let mine go a good 3-4 hours. It really tenderizes the meat and cooks down some of the spiciness.  

I make sure and taste and stir as it cooks. You may need to add more salt or other spices per your liking. 

Looks a little like chile but doesn't taste like it. This is spicy hot and full of delicious flavors. 

Any suggestions are always welcome, just comment or email me at pearlbeforeswine15@gmail.com. If you have any recipes you'd like to share, I'd love to do so!! 

Take care and have a great day!! 

Baked Oatmeal Cookies and fun for kids before school starts!

Baked Oatmeal Cookies

One of the family's favorites and super fun to make with the kids. I like to do mine without raisins and instead I add m&m's. 

Ingredients 

6 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups milk

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup chunky applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Ready in about 30-60 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Mix oats, milk, eggs, applesauce, brown sugar, butter, white sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until oats are evenly moistened; pour into prepared baking dish. 

Bake in the preheated oven until set and just golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Super easy and a great way to spend some time with the kids before they go back to school.

Fourth of July Recipes to try

 

Fourth of July Recipes

"Old Grandma Recipes"

Today's old family recipe is my grandma Marion's Strawberry Pie. It's been passed down from generation to generation. Now, it's not like you can't find this recipe everywhere nowadays but it's still a good one. Perfect for celebrating this 4th with your friends and family and kids love it! 

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

1 Package of strawberries or 6 cups

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

Pinch of Salt

4 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Step one

Buy or make a pie crust from scratch

Game plan: The dough can be made and baked up to 1 day ahead.
For quicker prep, you can make the dough in a food processor. Add all of the dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it’s in pea-size pieces. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of ice water and pulse again. Add more ice water if the dough seems too dry, shape it into a disk, wrap it up, and refrigerate.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

 Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes.

1. Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough.)
2. Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then use it in the pie or tart recipe of your choice.
3. Bake Pie Crust in the oven. Preheated to 450 for 10-15 mins or until lightly brown. 

Filling

1. Wash and slice strawberries and place in pie crust after it has baked and cooled. 
2. Combine sugar, water, cornstarch and lemon juice in a pot and bring to a boil. Stir consistently
3. Once the mix has cooled a little, pour over strawberries in baked pie crust. 
4. Place in the ice box to chill, after chilled remove and add whip cream to the top.

**Extra ideas**
you can add blueberries to the top and make it more colorful or make a flag or a fun happy face for fourth of July celebrating. 

Need a fun drink to go with that? I found a crazy one! 

This recipe is either real old or real gross because I can't find it anywhere.  Grapes are good, though, so I'm going to give it a shot! 

Grape Juice Polly

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Instant Tapioca

1 1/4 Cup Hot Water

2/3 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Grape Juice

1/2 Cup Whip Cream

1. Combine tapioca, hot water, and sugar in pot and cook on medium until the mixer is clear. 
2. Once mixer is clear, add grape juice
3. Let stand until cold and fold in 1/2 cup whipped cream or more.

Serve over ice or chilled. You can also add a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the glass and pour Grape Juice Polly over. Yum!! 

What's for Dinner?

Last night I brought out the "OLD GRANDMA RECIPES" and found something I haven't eaten in years. I remember making this in the kitchen with my mom, just the smell brought back so many wonderful memories. Don't you just love food like that? It can almost bring you back in time or to another place. It was always one of my favorites and it's a cinch to make!

BAKED CHOW MEIN HOT DISH 

INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
11/2 LBS OF HAMBURGER
1 CUP CELERY
ONION
GARLIC
1/2 CUP RAW RICE
1 CAN OF CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP
1 CAN OF CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP
3 TABLESPOONS SOY SAUCE
2 CUPS WATER (MAYBE LESS) You want it like a thicker soup, not super runny. 
CHOW MEIN NOODLES (FOR TOPPING)

STEP ONE:
I start by browning the hamburger the in a frying pan with onions and garlic.

THEN: Once that the has finished browning, you can either drain the grease or leave it in. I leave it and continue to add my other ingredients. 

NEXT: I'll add my celery, chicken of rice soup, cream of mushroom soup, raw rice, soy sauce, and water, stir all that up.  :)

THEN: You are going to preheat the oven to 360 degrees. 
Transfer all the ingredients from the frying pan to a baking pan of your choice. I normally use a glass rectangle pan 9"X13" or so. Once the oven is preheated, make sure the oven rack is in the center of the oven. Place in oven and set the timer for an hour to an hour and a half (1hr-1hr 1/2).

What I like to do is, put it in the oven for about an hour and 15mins. The last 15mins I use to add my chow mein noodles. You want those to get a nice golden brown, notWhat I like to do is, put it in the oven for about an hour and 15mins. The last 15mins I use to add my chow mein noodles. You want those to get a nice golden brown, not too dark or burnt. 

Once cooked and noodles are browned, remove from the oven and serve! I like to get a nice french bread (or you can add a salad) to compliment the dish.

Nothing better than some good O' home cooking and great people to share it with! 

I hope you enjoyed this dish as much as I do! Take Care and check back every Monday for a new blast from the past "OLD GRANDMA RECIPES"!