Because in 2020 changing plans is normal

In the year 2020 everything is virtual, including 5K's. My friend Marcia and I decided to walk to Hot Chocolate 5K this year, on the trail by my house. We'd talked about going out for dinner or doing something fun to celebrate our finish, but COVID shut down all the restaurants, plus, in-door dining? No thanks. Couple that with my kids being exposed to COVID and home on quarantine, we had to do some rethinking. Our first plan had been to do our walk in the afternoon and celebrate with a soup dinner - thinking the day would be chilly and we'd enjoy the warmth. Well, the day was in the 70's and beautiful. We decided to have a soup lunch outside on the deck, then go for our walk. This soup is legit. I wasn't sure about the ricotta but it really does make the soup. My whole family enjoyed this recipe and bonus, when we had leftovers the next day? We all picked this soup to eat! You know what that means? It goes into the rotation. Nice. This will be perfect for a cold winter night, it was great on a warm fall day too.

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
6 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups uncooked campanelle pasta
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and sausage, and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef and sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
Stir in garlic and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Place ground beef mixture into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef stock, Italian seasoning and basil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours. Uncover and stir in pasta; cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until tender; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve immediately, topped with dollops of ricotta and garnished with parsley, if desired.