Soup, Anyone?

A reader recently asked me to share some of our favorite soup recipes and I thought it would be fun to share one every other day or so. It has been very wet here these last few weeks and I have made up some soups and chili for the freezer. This week I made a chicken/smoked sausage gumbo, but didn't use a recipe. Just watched my mom make shrimp gumbo MANY times and substituted the chicken and sausage for the shrimp.

The following soup is a little unusual, but is very delicious and freezes well. In fact, the recipe comes from Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. I would love to try some new non-dairy soup recipes so if you have one or two, please share.

RAVIOLI SOUP

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs (I eliminate)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 t. onion salt
2 t. minced garlic
1 T olive oil
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14 1/2-ounce can beef broth
1 c. water
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t. dried thyme
1.4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 12-ounce package plain ravioli without sauce (frozen or refrigerated)
grated parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef in a large pot; combine remaining ingredients except for ravioli and extra parmesan. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool, put in container and freeze.

To prepare for serving, thaw soup base and put in a large pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Thaw and cook ravioli according to package directions until just tender. Drain ravioli; add to soup. Salt to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese. Makes 6 servings. BUT YOU KNOW I ALWAYS DOUBLE THE RECIPE!!