Lasagna Soup

This recipe I received from a friend who just started selling Pampered Chef last year. Our sons have been in Boy Scouts together 7 1/2 years. The whole meal is made in the deep covered baker. It's my second recipe to do in the baker. It sure is easy to do, the meals have been great and clean up simple. My son did not eat too much of it because of the onion.

I'm including the Pampered Chef recipe. This can be done in a skillet on the stove top.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 T tomato paste

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 box (8 oz box) fusilli pasta or roninin (uncooked) - I used elbow

dried basil

4 oz ricotta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/8 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Place ground beef and onion in Deep Covered Baker. Press garlic with Garlic Press and add to hamburger. Sprinkle oregano and red pepper flakes over garlic and onions.

2. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and crumble mixture. Return covered to microwave and microwave an additional 2 minutes, or until hamburger is no longer pink.

3. Removed cooked hamburger mixture and drain well. Set aside.

4. Add tomato paste and diced tomatoes with the juice to Deep Covered Baker. Stir in broth, bay leaves and uncooked pasta. Cover and microwave on high 10-13 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

5. Stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return hamburger mixture to liquid in baker. Cover and microwave 1-2 minutes.

6. In small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, the 1/8 tsp. of salt, and the pinch of pepper.

7. To serve, place about 1 1/2 T of ricotta mixture in each individual serving bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella and ladle the soup on top. A good "whirl" of the spoon in the bowl will ensure that you get a bit of gooey cheese in every bite.