Lasagna Soup with Spinach & Cannellini Beans

I just had that Justin Timberlake skit from SNL in my head…..”soup! There it is!”…….

Terrible. As in terribly awesome.

I always seem to have about 4-6 lasagna noodles sitting in my cupboard. I only make lasagna a few times per year, just when the husband requests it. We don’t do pasta around here very often, but I have been adding a handful of noodles to things here and there lately. He loves pastas and it is something I can easily eat around. I was making tomato soup the other day and using up some spinach from the fridge and decided to raid some extras from the pantry.

Lasagna Soup with Spinach & Cannellini Beans

1 lb ground beef
44 oz canned tomatoes
1 small yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
2 oz fresh spinach leaves
1 lb fresh grape, cherry, or sweet pea tomatoes
3/4 cup black olives broken in pieces
1 15oz can drained white cannellini beans
3 cups water
1/2 cup red wine
6 lasagna noodles
Salt to taste

Begin browning meat with onion and garlic in a pan. While that is going, get out your big stock pot. If you have a blender, puree your tomatoes. Or, just puree them right in the pot with an immersion blender. Add them with the juice to your stock pot with your oregano, basil, pepper flakes, red wine, water. Bring to a simmer. Add your browned beef, garlic, and onions. Allow to simmer on low for about an hour. Be sure to stir often. Add your beans and olives. Continue simmering another 45 minutes or so. Add your noodles, spinach, and fresh tomatoes. Add your salt to taste at this time. Your noodles should need about 30 minutes to cook through. Your spinach and fresh tomatoes should be cooked, but not mushy.