Crockpot Lasagna Soup

To be honest, I'm not much of a cook. Micah on the other hand is an AMAZING cook and therefore makes most of the meals in our little family.  Because he does such an awesome job serving me all of the time, I really enjoy the times when I can find a recipe that I can easily cook AND he loves. I have found that my cooking 'specialties' tend to be crockpot recipes and casseroles, which is awesome because they make such great leftovers. Recently I have tried to commit to making one major meal a week (usually Sunday) that Micah can use as his lunches during the school week. One of our favorites has been this Crockpot lasagna soup, though I would say it's more like a chili. I came across this recipe on Pinterest and have modified it from http://www.familyfreshmeals.com

Ingredients ~ 8 Servings 

• 1 lb 98% lean ground beef 

• 3 cups of beef broth
•  ½ cup of water

• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 TB dried parsley

• 1 TB dried basil

• 3/4 cup chopped onion

• 1, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1, 6oz can of tomato paste

• 1 cup V8 

• 2 cups uncooked shell pasta

• ¼ tsp pepper

• ¼ tsp salt

• Optional topping- Mozzarella shredded cheese

Directions 

1. First mix together the can of tomatoes, and tomato paste in crockpot.
2. Next add broth, beef (not cooked), garlic, parsley, basil, onion, V8 and salt/pepper.
3. Stir the mixture around evenly and break up the beef. 
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
5. When 30 minutes are left of cooking time, add in the ½ cup of water and noodles. Stir to combine. Put lid back on and continue cooking for 30 minutes.
6. Top with cheese as desired 

Excuse my lack of professional food photography, but I did manage to get a snap of this delicious meal before it was gobbled up. 

I put together the nutrition facts for this and actually found out that it was a fairly healthy meal! Here are the stats: (before cheese) 

Calories: 218

Carbs: 32g

Fat: 2g

Protein: 18g

Sugar: 8g

If anybody else tries out this recipe I would love to hear your input and suggestions! Have a great night!