It's finally fall ya'll and I'm home after several weeks of travel...comfort food beckons me! I want a big pot of something delicious and plenty of it. I picked this recipe from the beautiful on-line photo. That's just about all I got to go by too...a few screen photos of ingredients for the grocery and a few steps of instructions. Today when I went to start this, the recipe was no where to be found on the internet!
Who needs instructions anyway! I cheat in the kitchen all the time so why not cheat today too! The original recipe had about 25 ingredients and ya'll KNOW I'm not about to do that! I found some shortcuts and did a few cheats with no regret what-so-ever!
You'll need:
1 pound cooked shredded chicken breast
3 envelopes Knorr Vegetable Soup/Dip Mix
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 stick butter
2 cups shredded carrots
1 diced bell pepper
1/3 cup flour
1 box lasagna noodles
1 pint half and half
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian blend cheeses
15 ounces canneli beans (rinsed and drained)
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley flakes
Bring the Knorr mix to a boil with 9 cups of water, simmer for 15 minutes. While your stock simmers, sauté' carrots for 5 minutes, add diced pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 1/3 cup flour and mix well (this will be very thick). Transfer veggies into the soup stock and stir well. If your mixture looks too thick, add a little water to get a medium consistency. Drop in chicken bouillon cubes and let those simmer and dissolve. Turn up heat to get the mixture up to a low boil (stir frequently).
For the meat eaters - add the chopped chicken now. For the vegetarians, skip this and go on with it!
Break lasagna noodles into pieces (about 2 inches wide). Add to soup stock and stir often to keep noodles from sticking. Simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until noodles are al-dente'. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and a healthy handful of parsley (dried or fresh, your choice). Stir well to incorporate your spices, add canneli beans and spinach. Stir well then add both parmesan and Italian blend cheeses. If your soup looks too thick, you can add extra half and half or a little water to get the consistency that you like best.
Simmer for 10 minutes and double check your taste to see if you need any extra spices.
This is a two dish meal, it just needs a sauté' pan, a stock pot and some of your attention. Stiring frequently is key for this so be careful about your multi tasking plans. Time from start to serve is about 50 minutes. This refrigerates well and can be reheated in the microwave easily. When serving, add a sprinkle of extra cheese ('cause I'm cheesy that way) and add some warm garlic bread and enjoy!
If you're anti-carb - make this your cheat meal for the week! You won't regret it!
