Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, Garbanzos, Macaroni, and Basil

I've been having fun trying Low-Glycemic Holiday Recipes for Thanksgiving dinner, and there may be more to come, including a new version of South Beach Diet Friendly Stuffing I have my eye on, if I can get it done. First though, I thought I better do my post for Weekend Herb Blogging, since I don't know how much cooking or blogging I'll be doing this week. Today I'll be starting three days of SEP (Student Education Plan) conferences. These three days represent the yin and yang of teaching perfectly. On the one hand, it's kind of fun to meet individually with each student and their parents. You can actually connect with the students and impact them in that setting. On the other hand, having 28 conferences over three days is grueling, not to mention feeling like you need to have a handle on the individual needs of 28 different kids. I'll be spending close to 12 hours a day at school for the next three days, so blogging may be on the back burner.

This weeks herby offering is a family-friendly soup featuring basil, recently voted the favorite herb of the year for the Doubly Delicious Anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging. I'm always learning new things about basil, and Wikipedia points out that some types of basil are perennials. The sweet basil I used in this recipe is definitely an annual though, since the basil is long gone in my garden. Luckily I had slow-roasted tomatoes in the freezer, along with frozen basil to make this soup, and those two memories of summer really gave it a great flavor. When I'm making this type of soup, I often add dried herbs to the stock in the beginning of the cooking time, and then finish with some fresh herbs (or frozen ones) at the end. Simmering the soup with the dried herbs gives a wonderful depth of flavor to the broth. I was really happy with how this turned out, and when I took some to my dad and stepmother, they gave it two thumbs up. Next I'm sending a bowl over to Vanessa at What Geeks Eat, who's hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week. You can read about the rules for Weekend Herb Blogging and Who's Hosting Weekend Herb Blogging if you'd like to participate, but now let's talk about making soup.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, Garbanzos, Macaroni, and Basil
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

1 large onion, chopped in pieces 1/2 inch or less
1 T minced garlic (can use garlic puree from a jar)
4 tsp. olive oil, divided
3 cups homemade chicken stock (or use 2 cans chicken broth)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup roasted tomatoes, diced into small pieces (or use drained canned tomatoes)
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground fennel
2 links hot turkey Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef (also called beef mince, use beef with less than 15% fat)
1 cup water, to deglaze pan
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 cup macaroni (use Dreamfield's Macaroni for South Beach Diet)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or use frozen basil)

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in large frying pan, add onions and saute about 5 minutes, then add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes more.

While onions are cooking, combine stock, tomato sauce, slow-roasted tomatoes (or use canned tomatoes), dried basil, dried oregano, and ground fennel in large soup pot and start to simmer. Add onions and garlic to soup pot.

In same frying pan you cooked onions and garlic, brown ground beef and turkey sausage (squeezed out of the links) until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Use the back of a turner to break up the ground beef and sausage into small pieces. When done, add ground beef and sausage to soup pot. Cover pot and simmer on very low heat for one hour.

After an hour, add beans and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Add macaroni and simmer 30 minutes longer. (You may need to add a bit of extra water, depending on how tightly the lid fits on your pot.) When macaroni is done, add chopped fresh or frozen basil and cook 5 minutes. Serve hot. Can top with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

(Note from Kalyn: This soup has a lot of complex flavors going on from the homemade chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, Italian Sausage, fennel, chickpeas, dried herbs, and frozen basil, but if you don't have every single ingredient I used, you could still use the basic idea here and come up with a pretty good soup.)

South Beach Suggestions:

This soup is a good choice for phase two or three of the South Beach Diet if made with Turkey sausage, lean ground beef, and Dreamfield's pasta, as I have done in this recipe.

More Soups with Tomatoes, Garbanzos, Pasta, or Sausage:
(Recipes from other blogs may or may not be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
White Bean Soup with Roasted Turkey Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Basil
Italian Sausage and Zucchini Soup
Italian Sausage and Bean Soup with Chard
Chicken Soup with Garbanzos and Oregano
Lentil and Sausage Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Herbs
Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini from La Mia Cucina

Minestrone from Taste and Tell
Chorizo and Chickpea Soup from Morsels and Musings
A Bowl of Compassion (Pasta Fagiole) from Tigers and Strawberries
White Bean Soup with Sausage and Chard from Blue Kitchen

Things you might want to know:
You can get Kalyn's recipes by e-mail.
There's a great way to print recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen.
It's easy to find out who's hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week.
There are actual rules for Weekend Herb Blogging.
Here is another place where I write more about food.

Tags:
Food Recipes Cooking South Beach Diet Recipes
Low Carb Recipes Low Glycemic Index Recipes
Diabetes Friendly Recipes Weekend Herb Blogging