Sausage and Tortellini Soup

It’s soup season and soup season makes me very happy. This particular soup is incredibly flavorful and gets two thumbs up from my family, despite being made from just a few simple ingredients. If you keep fresh tortellini in the fridge and precooked sausage in the freezer, you can have steaming bowls of hot soup ready as little as 20 minutes.

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Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• 6 quart stockpot https://amzn.to/3Di9OSg

• beef bone broth https://amzn.to/3ZMGVFk

• beef stock https://amzn.to/3P1DlSK

• cannellini beans https://amzn.to/3BzxO2W

• cheese-filled tortellini https://amzn.to/3ZYiztJ

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Sausage and Tortellini Soup

makes 6 hearty servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 cup beef bone broth or beef stock

• 1 pound crumbled sweet italian sausage, cooked and drained

• 16 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn, okra, etc)

• 3 cups cooked cheese-filled tortellini

• optional garnish: grated parmesan, croutons (try my recipe), chopped scallions, chopped parsley

Directions

1. In a 6-quart stockpot, heat beef bone broth, cooked sausage, and vegetables until hot and bubbly.

2. Place 1/2 cup cooked tortellini in each bowl and top off with hot soup.

3. Garnish if desired and enjoy!

Notes

• To make this soup even more hearty, add a can of drained cannellini beans.

• To prevent the tortellini from getting soggy, don’t add them to the soup bowls until serving.

• Leftover soup and cooked tortellini should be stored separately to prevent the tortellini from becoming mushy.

• I like to keep portions of cooked sausage in the freezer so I can throw this soup together even faster.

San Giorgio Lasagna

I’ve been making lasagna the same way my mother did for years, without a recipe, which is why I haven’t shared lasagna with you in the 14+ years I’ve been writing this blog. But I recently sampled lasagna at a relative’s home that was very tasty. When I asked about it, I learned it was made following a recipe found on the back of the box. It reminded me not to overlook those back-of-the-box recipe. They’re usually pretty good.

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Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• meat chopper tool https://amzn.to/3OaRCf5

• lasagna noodles https://amzn.to/44KRIRJ

• 9x13 deep lasagna pan https://amzn.to/47bU4Lk

• nonstick foil https://amzn.to/44N7Yli

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San Giorgio Lasagna

makes 8-12 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the Meat Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 pound ground beef

• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

• sprig of fresh basil (stem with 6-8 leaves)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Additional Ingredients:

• 16 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked

• 32 ounces (4 cups) ricotta cheese

• 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

• shredded mozzarella for sprinkling on top of lasagna

Directions

To Make the Meat Sauce:

1. In a large skillet, saute onions in olive oil, stirring frequently, until caramelized; add garlic and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds.

2. Add the ground beef and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until meat is brown and crumbled; drain excess fat if needed.

3. Add crushed tomatoes and basil; reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes.

4. Remove basil sprig and taste; add salt and pepper if needed.

To Make the Cheese Filling:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, and parsley; mix until thoroughly combined.

To Make the Lasagna:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in the lower center position.

2. Butter or spray a deep 9x13-inch lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray (this is my favorite lasagna pan).

3. Line the bottom of the lasagna pan with 1/2 cup of meat sauce.

4. Top with a single layer of 3 or 4 lasagna noodles (trimming to fit the pan, if needed).

5. Next spread 1/3 of the cheese filling evenly over the noodles, followed by 1 cup of the meat sauce.

6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 two more times.

7. Finish with one more layer of lasagna noodles, the remaining meat sauce, and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

8. Cover dish tightly with nonstick foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.

9. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until bubbly and the temperature in the center of the lasagna reaches 160F.

10. Remove foil and turn on broiler to brown the cheesy top layer (this should happen quickly so don’t leave the lasagna unsupervised); remove from oven and rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

• After boiling the lasagna noodles, I like to cool them in a bowl of cold water before placing them between layers of clean kitchen towels where they’ll rest until I need them. They’ll keep this way for several hours. You can also roll the towels up and place them in a large plastic bag to store in the fridge overnight. To cook the noodles 2 or 3 days ahead of time, cook, cool, and dry them before coating them with a little oil, then roll them individually and place in a large zip-top bag in the fridge.

• This recipe can be assembled and refrigerated up to 5 days ahead of time. To cook, place the cold casserole dish in the center of a cold oven. Turn oven on and increase overall cooking time by 10-20 minutes.

• If you don’t have nonstick foil, you can use regular foil - just spray the side that touches the cheese with nonstick cooking spray.

• The original recipe calls for uncooked lasagna noodles and 4 large eggs. I haven’t tested this version, but I thought I’d mention it for those who might be interested in the convenience of uncooked lasagna noodles.

adapted from San Giorgio