With fall weather finally setting in, soup season is officially here! While this recipe calls fora lot of ingredients, it’s well worth it once the flavor hits your mouth. Letting it come together in the slow cooker makes the whole house fill with the warm smell. It’s like fall in a pot!

Once you serve it in a bowl, don’t forget the garlic breadsticks or rosemary focaccia to soak up the leftover broth. The chunks of vegetables with the savory herbs give a punch to this hearty dish. It will be your new favorite soup recipe!

 

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 or 3 links (8-12 oz.) turkey Italian sausage
(If you want to use the whole package of sausage, just add a little more beef broth.)
2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped carrots
one medium onion chopped small
1 T minced garlic (we used garlic from a jar)
1 tsp. Italian Herb Blend
1 tsp. Spike Seasoning
1 tsp. ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1 can (15 oz.) small red beans, rinsed in a colander and drained
7-8 cups beef broth (4 cans, 15 oz. each, or use homemade beef stock)
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) petite diced tomatoes
a few pieces of chopped Parmesan rind if you have them
1 1/2 cup chopped zucchini noodles (or more if you are omitting beans and /or carrots)
2 T balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan (or in the Ninja Cooker), add the ground beef and Italian sausage and cook over medium-high heat until it’s nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner or potato masher while it cooks. When it’s browned well, put the meat into the slow cooker. Add the other teaspoon of oil to the frying pan, add the carrots and onions, and cook about 3 minutes. Then add the minced garlic, Italian Herb Blend, Spike Seasoning, ground fennel, and red pepper flakes and cook about 2 minutes more. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker.

Add the beef stock, petite diced tomatoes, and drained beans to the slow cooker, with some pieces of Parmesan rind if you’re lucky enough to have some. Cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 – 3 hours. (The Ninja cooks a little hot, so you might need a little more than 3 hours if you’re using a different slow cooker.)

When the soup has cooked about 3 hours, make zucchini noodles using the method you prefer; then coarsely chop the noodles until you have 1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini (or a bit more if you are omitting the beans or carrots.) Add zucchini to the soup and cook 30-45 minutes more, or until the zucchini is done to your liking.

Remove the Parmesan rind if it hasn’t all dissolved. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season soup to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. (Taste before salting if you use the Parmesan, because it’s a bit salty.) Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan to add at the table if desired.

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Quick tip: Top with grated cheese with serving to give the soup that gooey top layer that’s oh-so-good!

Recipe and image courtesy of Kalyn’s Kitchen.