Rigatoni Bolognese Stoup

I made this great Rigatoni Bolognese Stoup for dinner last Saturday and was really pleased with how it came out.  We snapped into fall pretty quickly last week.  It was 96 degrees out on Tuesday and it dropped down to a high of 67 on Friday, so that really put me in the mood for a warm hearty meal over the weekend.  I had this in the back of my head to make over the last week after my mom told me about a recipe for lasagne soup.  Since my sweet hubby is allergic to cheese I knew I wanted to try a recipe out of a my Bolognese sauce.   I also love very thick stew like soups or as Rachel Ray calls them Stoups.  I was going to make spaghetti stoup, but I wanted something heartier that would really hang onto the pasta, and rigatoni fit the bill.  So this is how this Rigatoni Bolognese Stoup came to life.

Rigatoni Bolognese Stoup

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage

1 1/2 lbs Sweet Italian Sausage links, sliced into 1 inch slices

2 cans 28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 28 oz can tomato puree

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

2 3.8 oz cans sliced black olives

1 8 oz packaged sliced mushrooms, cleaned

2 cups diced onions

5 cloves garlic
2 TB Olive Oil

2 TB chopped parsley

3 TB Italian seasonings

1 tsp ground oregano 

1 1/2 tsp basil

2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

4 TB sugar

2 to 4 cups beef broth

8 oz Rigatoni, cooked

Garlic Bread Ingredients

6 to 8 slices french bread
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Put the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.  Turn heat to medium to heat oil, then add the onions.

Cook onions until translucent, and then add the garlic and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Next add your ground beef, bulk italian sausage, and sliced sausage cook until browned.

At the same time as you are browning the meats add the parsley, italian seasonings, oregano, and basil.

Once ground meats are browned, drain fat from pan.

Next add your crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, and tomato sauce.

Heat until bubbling and then turn heat down to simmer.

Next add the baking soda and sugar.  Stir well.  It will bubble and get foamy.  The baking soda removes some of the acid from the sauce, which helps with heartburn.

Continue simmering for 3 to 4 hours.

You can then take out 1/2 of the sauce to set aside for another meal.  I will be using the other half in a chicken recipe.  You can either freeze it or use it in the next few days.

Now to make it into stoup is pretty easy.

You will add 2 to 4 cups of beef broth.  I only added 2 cups, because I like mine very thick, but add the broth to reach your desired thickness.

Continue cooking until boiling.

Next add the the cooked rigatoni and cook for a few more minutes

You will next mix the butter and garlic and spread it over your bread slices.  Top with Parmesan cheese and put under the broiler for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Put one slice of garlic toast on top of stoup and serve.

Serves 6 to 8 servings

I hope you like my Rigatoni Bolognese Stoup.  It's such a hearty meal and the garlic toast on top is really delicious.

Have a wonderful week.
Debi
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