Lasagna Soup & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

You might have noticed that Making an Effort Monday has not been the most regular thing lately. I either had nothing to say or too much to say, and it started driving me a little crazy. It began as a way to motivate me to try new recipes, make more projects, and organize my house, and it did that, so it served its purpose, and that's great, but I am over it for now. It might pop back up in the future if I need a fire under my butt, but I am on a g-d ROLL over here, and I am just going to post about food or crafts whenever I please. Maybe on a Monday, maybe on a Thursday; hell, maybe even on a SATURDAY. 

Also, ALSO (stay with me; there's a lot of changes to get used to, I know, I know, but I'm confident you can handle it), I added a lovely little tabby up at the top, right next to the tab with my crafty time excitement (Did you even know that was there? Now you do.).

It is chock full of RECIPES. Yum. So if you're ever thinking to yourself, what was the recipe for the macaroni and cheese with bacon in it? You can click the tab and be like, Oh yeah, Cheesy Bacon Mac! (Jeremy re-named it). Then you click on the picture that looks like this:

And BOOM, you are at the page with the recipe. Magical.

So, to keep this thing moving in a food-oriented direction (possibly one of my favorite directions ever), I have a new recipe for you. Paula Deen called it "Tastes Like Lasagna Soup." I think that's a mouthful, and I made some changes (I know, I know ... sacrilege ... some changes were on purpose, but some were just due to missing ingredients, so don't freak out, OKAY?), so I call it ...

(much more creative, no?)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 large yellow onion (or 1/2 regular yellow onion), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 Tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
42 ounces of chicken broth (or close -- less wouldn't be a huge deal, and more wouldn't be that horrible either. Paula called for 32 ounces, but I had a 42 ounce can, so that's how that happened)
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (oregano and rosemary blend is awesome; normal is fine; petite is fine -- however you are feeling about the tomatoes is FINE)
15 ounces (-ish) of marinara sauce 
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil, oregano, cilantro, and parsley (or 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles
5 ounces of grated Parmesan cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine ground turkey, onion, and garlic with a splash of olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat until turkey is brown and crumbles easily and onions are transparent (or close). Drain if necessary (it wasn't for me, but it depends on how lean your meat is).

2.  Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, cilantro, parsley and salt. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

3.  Add noodles, and simmer until the noodles are tender. I always buy whatever "Plus" pasta is on sale. I am a HUGE fan of Barilla Plus with the whole grains and omega-3 and all that awesomeness. This time I got Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, which is whole grain and lots of fiber. The point of all that was actually just to say that it took me a lot longer to cook those noodles than it does "regular" noodles, so the cook time will vary based on what type of noodle you prefer.

4. Final, CRUCIAL step: stir in all that Parmesan cheese. I know this seems like a lot of cheese, and, I mean, it IS a lot of cheese, but it MAKES the soup. I promise.

5.  Top with Mozzarella and serve (or, if you are trying to impress someone, toss them in the oven on broil for a few minutes).

Yum, yum, and YUM.

Here is what Jeremy thought:

Please don't send me e-mails about the wall color. Even if you own a paint company and want to send me free samples. We RENT. Sorry. I hate it, too.

And here is what Josephine thought:

Paula thought it should be served with a garlic crostini (a tiny piece of french bread with garlic smeared on it and fried in a pan). I didn't have french bread and was afraid the soup might not be filling enough for Jeremy (I was wrong), so I made my super-easy/can't-miss GARLIC CHEDDAR BISCUITS OF AWESOMENESS. 

I found a recipe for similar biscuits on the side of the Bisquick box and adjusted them to my taste. The recipe on the box is good, too, but I like mine. ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
A little less than 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
(For this batch, since I was going for an Italian mood, I tossed in a dash of basil and oregano. Totally optional.)
butter or margarine

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except margarine in bowl. Mix until dough forms.

2. Make 9-12 balls of dough and place them evenly on an ungreased pan (somehow I ALWAYS make 11, but you might like them bigger or smaller. It matters not.)

3. Smear a tiny bit of butter on the top of each biscuit. I use a lot of butter in this recipe, but I DO NOT CARE, because it's not even butter. I guess you might not even be able to classify it as margarine? We use Promise light because it is the only "butter-flavored spread" our store carries that does not contain partially hydrogenated oils. Dr. Oz would be so proud.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes (I do exactly 8). Smear a little more butter on top of each one (See, this is why I don't use real butter.), and serve hot. Yummers.

Another night, another stomach full to bursting. :)