Pepperoni Soup

It is cold and windy and I just felt like some soup.  Stinks is a super picky eater!  One of his favorite foods is pepperoni which means we always, and I mean ALWAYS, have some in the house.

~Hey, when the doc says at every appointment to add some weight to your child you pretty much stock up on anything he will eat.  And I have to believe that pepperoni will add more fat to his body than all the apples he eats so we roll with it!~

As you know by now, I like "in-house" recipes.  Who wants to run out to the store for that one weird ingredient when you finally settle on what to make?  Nothing drives me battier!  Well, thanks to Stinks weird and unnatural obsession with pepperoni, this is definitely an in-house recipe!

Pepperoni Soup

• 4 c Tomato Soup (You can use whatever kind you want - make some if you want!)
• 2-3 c Water (This is a preference thing, keep in mind it will dilute your soup so go with your gut)
• 1 1/2 c Small Shell Pasta, uncooked (or any other small pasta such as elbows etc)
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1/3 c Pepperoni, chopped
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 4 oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 5 oz Mozzarella Cheese, sliced
• Oregano, Italian Seasoning, Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Spray the bottom of your pot with non-stick spray and sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add in the tomato soup, water, diced tomatoes, and seasonings.  Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Add the pepperoni and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add in the pasta and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 3 minutes - or until the pasta is al dente - and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.  
5. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and simmer until the cheese has melted and the soup thickens (only a couple of minutes).
6. Ladle one cup of soup into an oven safe crock and top with .5 oz of mozzarella cheese.  Place the crock under the broiler in your oven for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.  
7. ENJOY!

The soup is simple, quick, and makes a wonderful meal.  We paired ours with a chunk of sourdough bread and some clementines, I was certainly content.  Be sure you don't skip the simmer time in steps two and three.  That is when the flavors of the pepperoni and seasonings really blend.  

The recipe makes about 10 cups (obviously dependent on the amount of water you went with) of soup. I have found the 1 cup servings are good for me so I divided the recipe into 10 servings.)  The calorie count is 152 calories per serving.  I need to point out that I use low sodium soup, low fat cheddar, and homemade mozzarella made with non-fat milk.  If you want to cut the calorie count down even more you could try using turkey pepperoni - but Stinks would NEVER go for that so I use regular.