Crockpot Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef, lean or vegetarian crumble
• 3 cups of beef broth or vegetable broth to make vegetarian
• 4-5 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 TB dried parsley
• 1 TB dried basil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1, 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 cup V8 or any vegetable drink
• 2 cups uncooked shell pasta
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup of water
• Optional topping- shredded cheese

Instructions

1. NOTE about beef: The pictured meet is the vegetarian crumble… that is why it looks browned. You do NOT have to brown the beef before putting into the crock pot. I did not pre-cook the meat first. If you are using a higher fat ground beef (like an 80/20) you might want to precook to drain off some of the fat. But if you don’t mind the extra fat…that isn’t even necessary, just a suggestion.
2. First mix together the can of tomatoes, and tomato paste in crockpot.
3. Next add broth, beef, garlic, parsley, basil, onion, V8 and salt/pepper.
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 1 cup of water and noodles. Stir to combine. Put lid back on and continue cooking for 30 minutes.