Thick Spaghetti Soup

This is an extremely thick hardy soup, a whole meal in a bowl. We usually have some raw vegetables with dip and some good crusty bread with it. It freezes very well. I've had this recipe for sometime now. I believe it came from the first year of the Taste of Home magazine, but I'm not positive.

• Ready In: 1 hr 35 mins
• Serves: 7-8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb ground beef
• 1⁄2 lb sweet Italian sausage link
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style tomatoes, with basil,do not drain,roughly break-up tomatoes
• 2  cups beef broth
• 1  cup tomato juice
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1  bay leaf
•  fresh pepper
• 1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1  cup  raw spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
• 1  cup  frozen peas
• 1⁄2 cup sliced ripe olives
•  grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Saute meats with onions and garlic in large soup kettle.
2. Drain excess grease.
3. Add next 10 ingredients.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 60 minutes, stirring occassionally.
5. Add peas and olives,cook, uncovered for 10 minutes.
6. Remove bay leaf.
7. Sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.