Growing up as a child, my mom always used RAGĂ when making us spaghetti with buttered white bread. It was simple, but I was a youngster and it didn’t take much to enrich my simple palette. Sometimes we would have ground beef mixed in and other times we would have ‘poor man’s’ spaghetti and would just enjoy the RAGĂ mixed into the noodles. RAGĂ is different these days, offering SO many more choices.
Now, I am a mother of two and I like to continue our family tradition with RAGĂ. However, I make a variety of dishes with RAGĂ, including this Thick and Hearty Lasagna Soup. It is amazing how something as simple as lasagna came be made so many different ways, even as a hearty soup!
Lasagna has been around for a LONG time and can be traced back all the way to ancient Greece. Lasagna can be traced down to the Greek word laganon. This was a flat sheet of dough cut down into strips. The Romans borrowed this word and turned it into lasanum, which is an ancient cooking pot. Lasagna became more modern with the English recipe loseyn, where ingredients were layered in-between the flat noodles. Modern day lasagna with its tomatoes sauce occurred in Napes Italy during the Middle Ages. Lasagna was and still is enjoyed on special occasions in Italy. Immigrants brought lasagna recipes over to America and now we even enjoy lasagna soup!
RAGĂ continues to carry on the tradition of their founder, Assunta Cantisano, with their NEW line of sauce- RAGĂ Homestyle! RAGĂ Homestyle has a thick and hearty texture which hugs every noodle and provide a delicious made-from-scratch taste.
I found my bottle of RAGĂ Homestyle sauce at Target and I also saw them at my local grocers. The bottle I purchased was the Thick and Hearty Traditional and came with an adorable packet of basil seeds on it with instructions on how to plant them in the empty RAGĂ jar! What a fun summer project!
How to Prepare:
Cook your ground beef and sausage on the stove top. Add onions and garlic and cook until done.
Add your RAGĂ Homestyle sauce to the meat mixture.
Add 2 cups of vegetable broth to the sauce/meat mixture. I usually just add a splash as I like my lasagna soup to be more thick and chunky (think more of a chili texture).
Start cooking your noodles until they are done.
Prepare your cheese mixture, which will include shredded parmesan and mozzarella and ricotta cheese.
Now, it’s time to LAYER!
Put three scoops of the cheese mixture into the bottom of your bowl. Then sprinkle some noodles on top of the cheese mixture.
Add your meaty soup mixture on top of the noodles and then top with shredded parmesan and basil. I like to serve this soup with crusty bread and/or a fresh salad.
Thick and Hearty Lasagna Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound of Ground Beef
1 Pound of Italian Sausage
1 Onion, Diced
1 Tablespoon of Garlic
2 Cups of Vegetable Broth (or less if you want a chunkier version)
1 Box of Rotini Pasta
Salt and Pepper to Taste
16 oz of Ricotta Cheese
1 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Directions
1. Cook your ground beef and sausage on the stove top. Add onions and garlic and cook until done.
2. Add your RAGĂ Homestyle sauce to the meat mixture.
RAGĂ Homestyle sauces are available in five bold flavors:
- Traditional
- Meat
- Roasted Garlic
- Four Cheese
- Mushroom
