Meat Lover's Pizza Pasta Soup

Meat Lover's Pizza Pasta Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 (19 oz.) pkg. Johnsonville Hot 'n Spicy Bratwursts, remove casings
  • 4 strips lean thick cut quality bacon, crisp cooked and broken into pieces (*or cut and cooked with the sausage)
  • 1 Tbl. olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 large cloves garlic, minced (or run through a garlic press)
  • 25 slices pepperoni, quartered
  • 1 cup sliced and oven roasted sweet red or green cubanelle or bell peppers
  • 1 (24 oz.) jar Barilla Tuscan Herb Pasta Sauce or your own favorite
  • 2 cups chicken bouillon*, (2 cups boiling water mixed with 2 tsp. bouillon)
  • 2 cups beef bouillon*, (2 cups boiling water mixed with 2 tsp. bouillon)
  • 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 Tbl. basil pesto
  • 2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 Tbl. fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups mezzi rigatoni
  • 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

*

  • fresh grated parmesan and chopped fresh parsley or basil to garnish only if desired

Instructions

  • Slice through casings of sausages and remove remove the casings from the bratwursts. Add to frying pan, break up into small chunks, and sauté until done through. Drain grease, break up bacon and stir into sausage, cover and set aside. (*If you don't have any cooked bacon on hand, snip into small pieces and just cook with sausage).
  • In small stock pot, add oil and chopped onion, sauté until just tender, then add garlic and pepperoni and sauté 1 minute longer.
  • Add rest of ingredients except mozzarella and parmesan.
  • Stir ingredients in pot, and heat to low boil/simmering, cover, lower heat until at a low simmer, and cook until pasta is tender, about 18 minutes. (Stir a couple of times especially the bottom so that it doesn't stick or scorch). Stir, cover, and set aside to cool down a little while you preheat the broiler.
  • Ladle soup into oven-safe crocks, top with some mozzarella cheese, and low broil until melty. Garnish with a little fresh grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley or basil if you'd like! Serve with garlic bread or bread sticks for dunking. Enjoy!

    • Notes

    *I prefer to use Better Than Bouillon Beef and Chicken Bases for this, but you can use whatever kind you like.
    **Prefer other ingredients such as mushrooms, olives, spinach or anchovies? Go for it! Always make dishes how you enjoy them and add your own favorites!
    ***A 1/2 pound pre-sliced fresh mozzarella was plenty enough to top each bowl. But. I happened to have just slightly more. So, to the last bowl, I cubed it, added it to the hot soup ladled into the bowl before topping with the regular amount of cheese and before broiling, and you get that whole "dip the spoon into the bowl, pull it up, and massive gooey stringy cheese trails!" Swoon worthy! But it's a LOT of cheese!!!! So that's up to you.