- 1 pound (96%) extra lean ground beef or lean ground turkey, see shopping tips
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cups zucchini, sliced
- 1½ cups onions, chopped
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (14 oz) jar pasta or pizza sauce, such as Barilla, Prego, Ragu or Classico
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Black pepper, to taste
- 5 dry whole grain or whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups dry noodle pieces)
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. In a large nonstick pot or pan, brown the beef with garlic. Cook and stir often until beef is browned and crumbled. Pour into a colander and drain the fat.
2. Add beef back to pot. Stir in mushrooms, zucchini, onions, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high to return the mixture to a boil. Stir in the noodle pieces. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Let sit for 5 minutes for spinach to cook.
5. I like this soup thick. If it becomes too thick during cooking or too thick to suit your taste, add about ½ to 1 cup water. This soup does thicken when refrigerated. Once heated it does get thinner.
6. To serve: Ladle 2 cups of soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese.
7. This soup freezes great!
Makes 12 cups total. Each main course servings, 2 cups soup and 2 teaspoon Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Facts
for a 2 cup serving with Parmesan cheese
262 calories
6g fat
2g sat fat
43mg chol
24g protein
32g carbs
7g fiber
741mg sod
10g sugar
SmartPoints value : 7
