Lasagna Soup

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a large cooking vessel; heat and stir half of a small onion and half of a garlic clove until the onion becomes translucent, approximately five minutes. Stir shredded carrots and escarole into the onion mixture; heat and stir until the escarole is wilted, around ten minutes.

Pour chicken broth into the pot with vegetables and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer chicken breasts in broth until they are no longer pink inside, roughly ten minutes. Remove the chicken breasts and vegetables from the broth with a slotted spoon, let them cool, and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set the chicken and vegetables aside; retain the chicken broth in the pot.

Combine meat loaf mix, bread crumbs, egg, remaining half of a small onion, remaining half of a garlic clove, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; mix thoroughly. Form about one and a half teaspoons of the meat mixture into a small ball, repeat with the remaining mixture. Refrigerate the meatballs until firm, approximately thirty minutes.

Bring the chicken broth back to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer the meatballs in broth until they are no longer pink inside, roughly ten minutes. Remove the meatballs from the chicken broth with a slotted spoon. Retain the chicken broth in the pot.

Bring the chicken broth back to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook lasagna noodles until they are cooked through but still slightly firm to the bite, approximately ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set the noodles aside. Reserve the remaining chicken broth.

Combine chopped chicken, vegetables, ricotta cheese, and parsley in a bowl; season with salt and black pepper. Chill the mixture for ten minutes to become firm.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Coat the bottom of a large, deep baking dish with olive oil.

Place three cooked lasagna noodles into the baking dish. Layer one-third of the ricotta-chicken mixture and one-third of the meatballs over noodles; sprinkle layers with one-third cup Parmesan cheese and two-thirds cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice more, using three lasagna noodles, one-third of the ricotta mixture, one-third of the meatballs, one-third cup Parmesan cheese, and two-thirds cup mozzarella cheese per layer.

Bring the remaining chicken broth to a rolling boil, lower the heat to low, and whisk cornstarch into the chicken broth until thickened, approximately five minutes. Pour the thickened chicken broth over the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining one-third cup Parmesan cheese and two-thirds cup mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until bubbling and the cheese topping has melted, approximately twenty minutes.