In a large soup pot or Dutch oven cook the ground beef and onion over medium high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon into small pieces. Cook until the meat is fully browned.

Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Drain off any excess fat.

Stir the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, dried basil, dried parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper into the meat and onions.

Add the pasta sauce, 6 cups of the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and bay leaf. Stir well to combine.

Add the broken lasagna noodles and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over low to medium heat cooking until the lasagna noodles are tender (about 20-25 minutes). Stir the soup occasionally (it will become thick as it simmers, so be sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot).

Remove and discard the bay leaf and stir in heavy cream (optional) plus an additional 2-4 cups of chicken broth to reach desired consistency.

Garnish by topping the soup with ingredients of your choice, such as mozzarella cheese, dollops of ricotta cheese, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley.