Albondigas Soup / Mexican Meatball Soup

I've been meaning to try this for a while now and in keeping up with our Soup Saturdays, I finally had the chance! I paired this soup with cheese quesadilla and it was perfect for a light Saturday night dinner.

Here's what you'll need to make the soup:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 T peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
1 egg
1 cup white bread crumbs, plain (like panko)
1 T cooking oil
1 box chicken broth
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small jalapeño, diced and removed of the seeds
1 small can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

How to make:
1. In order to make a less than lumpy meatball, place half the 1/2 bunch of cilantro, 1/2 the onions, and garlic in a blender and pulsed until finely chopped. Then, transfer to a medium sized bowl, add the ground pork and add the egg and slowly add bread crumbs. The mixture should not be sticky nor too dry so you may not use all the bread crumbs. When you've successfully caught all the pork from the sides of the bowl, you have the right consistency. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper to taste.

2. Heat a large pot (where you will eventually cook all the soup) and drizzle the oil. When hot, form meatballs about 1 inch wide and pre-cook in the oil. You don't have to cook through, just brown all sides. You may not be able to fit in all the meatballs in one batch, so once browned on all sides, transfer to a plate.

3. Once all meatballs are browned and on a plate, saute the rest of the onions and scrape off the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots, jalapeño, and celery.  Cook until tender - about 7 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and the cilantro. Continue to cook about 5 minutes.

4. Add the chicken broth and bouillon cube. Add water, if needed, to make more soup, if preferred. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs to cook through, depending on size of the meatballs. Then add the potatoes. Keep on medium heat. Don't let the potatoes get overcooked as this tastes better with crunchy vegetables.

5. Make sure it's seasoned according to taste by adding more salt and pepper, as desired. Optional: sprinkle with cheese on top prior to serving.

We served this with cheese quesadilla which was very easy to make. Simply heat butter in a pan, and lay one tortilla to heat through. Add shredded cheese (any kind of cheese would do, depending on preference). Fold the tortilla in half and allow the cheese to melt. Serve hot.

Italian Chicken Soup - courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Absolutely loved, loved this soup that I made a few weeks ago for our new tradition of Soup Saturdays.

It was hearty, creamy, loaded, and all else. Just plain great comfort food. It's a great make-ahead recipe also. Here's the recipe that I followed and the only variation I did was to not include the cream in the pot of soup, but let each person serve their own bowl and swirl in the cream and add the cheese according to their preference.

Click here for the yummy recipe.

And who doesn't love The Pioneer Woman? :)

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Bread Pudding ala Mode

When you find yourself with more bread that you need or want, what is there to do? Make bread pudding! This can be a make ahead recipe to do when you have free time and eat it warm later. I make my bread pudding with raisins because that's how my mother made them when we were kids. Instructions below!

Needed:
10 slices of bread. I used slices approximately 5 in x 5 in
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 small box raisins, optional
4 eggs, beaten
2 c milk
3/4 white sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1 capful vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Pour half of the melted butter into the loaf pan making all sides are coated. This lets the pudding bake well without sticking on the sides.

3. Tear bread onto small pieces and place directly into a loaf pan. Drizzle remaining melted butter over the bread then scatter the raisins over the bread/butter mix.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the bread in the loaf pan and make sure the bread is well soaked.

5. At this point, you can either put in the fridge overnight with a plastic wrap covering it and bake in the morning for approximately 45 minutes.  Or you can bake directly for 45 minutes.

6. Let cool slightly to be able to slice to serve.

Best eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream--ala mode!!

Italian Wedding Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I based the soup recipe on Ina Garten's version and modified it to my liking. The result? Delicious alternative to a rice-laden dinner! Hope you enjoy making and eating it as much as I did:

Below are the steps for making the soup.

Italian Wedding Soup
Needed for the meatballs:
1lb ground pork
1/2 lb pork sausage, country style, no casings
2 T garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 c bread crumbs (I used Panko)
3 T parsley, finely chopped
1/2 c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, or a blend of both
1/8 c milk
1 egg
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Needed for the soup:
2 T olive oil
1 c onion, finely chopped
3 pcs carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
10 c chicken broth (store bought)
1/2 c white wine
1 c small pasta
3 T dill, finely chopped
1 bag baby spinach, washed and ready to use

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl until well blended. You can (should) use your hands to mash them all together. The consistency should be that it forms into a large ball without much residue on your hands or the sides of the bowl. If you are left with egg or milk or other liquids, your consistency is too watery, add bread crumbs sparingly. This is because the consistency of the pork or anything else may be too liquid-y and you want almost like a clay-like form so that it will ball well and not disintegrate when cooking.

3. Form the meatballs into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes until cooked in the center and slightly browned on the outside.

4. While the meatballs are cooking, make the soup.

5. Drizzle the olive oil in a large soup pot and when warm, add the onions, celery and carrots and let cook with lid until soft. This will take about 7 minutes. Add the wine and let sizzle. Then add the soup stock until boiling. Add the pasta to cook until al dente. Add the dill, then the meatballs. Allow to cook some more. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook no more than until wilted.

6. To serve, ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with extra cheese, if desired. Enjoy with a breadstick or a grilled sandwich below.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Making a grilled cheese sandwich is so easy to make. Take two slices of bread and butter the inside with margarine. Layer with cheese--any cheese and as much as you would like. The more cheese, the cheesier! Each end should have a slice of bread. Melt butter in a pan and "fry" the sandwich. Each side should take about 90 seconds until golden brown. Repeat for the other side of the sandwich, starting with melting more butter in the pan. Enjoy!