Ham and Squash Soup

I guess it's time to play catch up on all the recipes I did make last week! This ham and squash soup is a gem we found on Pinterest! Paula Deen's recipes make me so happy!! You can find her original recipe on her site PaulaDeen.com! It's easy to put together and I love all the different textures and flavors in the soup itself! Let's get cookin'!

Ingredients

2 pounds yellow squash-sliced into rounds 

(Note: I quartered my slices)

6 TB butter

1 large onion-chopped

4 carrots, sliced

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 c sour cream

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c white cheddar cheese-grated

1 1/2 c vegetable stock

2 c cooked ham

To start out you're going to melt the butter (buttah-Paul Deen lol) in a soup pot on the stove! Add the onions, carrots, squash, and a dash of salt and pepper. Saute all this together for about 20 minutes. 

Add the evaporated milk and sour cream to the vegetable mixture, and stir well! Simmer this mixture until you start to see bubbles, and then stir in the nutmeg, cheese, ham and vegetable stock! 

Warm the entire mixture through, and serve! 

I couldn't get enough of this soup, it was so delicious! I was worried about the leftovers and the squash getting to soggy, but to my surprise it held up well to finish off the next day! 

Stay tuned for a very enticing snack that I can't make enough of!! 

Until next time...

Tortellini Soup

Well this is by far one of the easiest recipes I have put together in a LONG time! I couldn't find the original source link, but whoever it is out there, we loved it! Here are the ingredients...

Ingredients

One bag of frozen tortellini (we used 5 cheese)

1 small bag of spinach

2 can of Italian style diced tomatoes

1 box (4 c) Vegetable Broth

1 block of cream cheese

Are you ready for the crazy part! There is no dicing, chopping or mincing in this recipe! All you do is put all the ingredients in your crock pot. Set the temperature to low, and cook 5-6 hours! I did pull apart the cream cheese block as I tossed it in there, so that it would be easier to cook down, but that is truly all I did! Five hours later we were chowing down on some delicious soup! 

This is the recipe from Pinterest that says "BEST CROCK POT MEAL EVER"...now I don't know about "ever" but I love how easy it is, which makes it top notch in my book! 

DJ added last night, that next time he wants me to try to add cottage cheese instead of all the cream cheese (to try and lower the calories (370/serving)) and maybe a little more spinach! I'll have to experiment around and see what I come up with! I can't believe today is the last day of February, which means GREAT fishing weather very soon (we're talking 2-3 weeks TOPS)! Tomorrow, I will finish up the photo challenge for this month, and another recipe will be coming very soon!

Until then...

Cheese Soup is one of my favorites!

For as long as I can remember my mom making cheese soup, it has been one of my favorite meals!   I decided to make it for us last night after looking through some more recipes in my new cookbook from my mom! In my hurried, excited state I completely forgot to get bread bowls, however it is on the list of things to do today (for leftovers). This recipe came from one of my mom's friends, Faye and I cannot thank her enough for sharing this recipe! Let's get started!

Ingredients

3 carrots grated

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 small onion finely chopped

1/2 stick of butter

2 large can of chicken broth (roughly 32 oz)

2 can of cream of potato soup

1 pound Velveeta cheese, torn into small pieces

In a large pot, heat the half stick of butter, and saute the carrots, celery and onion for about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes! 

I love buying these matchstick carrots, because I'm not a carrot fan and D won't go through a whole package of carrots alone, so these are perfect for snacking and cooking! They are pretty long though, so I would recommend dicing them a little bit before you through them in!

3 stalks of celery

This is 32 oz of chicken broth. I used all of it by the time it was all said and done. I would recommend starting out with 3/4 of the box and adding more as needed!

After the broth and vegetables have simmered, add in the 2 cans of cream of potato soup and the pound of Velveeta cheese! Keep stirring frequently until all the cheese has melted over LOW heat (the cheese will burn over high heat, so keep that spoon moving)! Once you have everything melted and stirred in, spoon into a bread bowl and serve! Did I mention this recipe is ridiculously easy?! Stay tuned for some other great recipes! Until then...

~Happy Eating~

(cheese picture (top) courtesy of wegmans.com)

Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup

I decided it was time for some hearty soup with the falling leaves, and colder nights! I'm so bad about cooking soups in the summer because it's one of those things that warms your bones and when it's 110 degrees outside, it's hard to get in the mood for that! So, I looked through Tasteful Traditions cookbook put together by Fellowship Bible Church here in Tulsa, and found this recipe which was submitted by Connie Athens.

It is delicious, it is hearty, and it is easy....so here we go!

The ingredients you will need for this are as follows:
2 lbs. ground beef (we used venison)
2 T butter
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (10 oz) can Hominy (I used white hominy)
1 c diced green peppers
12 c beef broth or water with bouillon cubes (I used 10 cups of water (because I ran out of room in my pot) and 10 bouillon cubes)
16 oz Chopped tomatoes, canned or fresh (I used petite diced)

The portions of this I omitted are:
1 1/2 c sliced carrots
2 c celery
Only because I couldn't wrap my brain around carrots, and celery on a hamburger. The hominy....well, I just love hominy! So it stayed!!

You are going to brown the beef in a 6 quart sauce pan (I used an over-sized skillet) in the 2 T butter.
Next you will add onions, garlic and green peppers-Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Next add your beef broth or water with bouillon cubes. Then add the chopped tomatoes (I drained mine first), and the pepper. Simmer the soup on low for 35 minutes and then add the hominy and bring the soup back to a boil for another 10 minutes. (I boiled it for 10 minutes and then I put it back on low/warm and covered it until Dee Jay got home about 30 mins later).

To top off our bowls we added a small handful of shredded Cheddar cheese (so I guess we actually had cheeseburger soup) and that really put it over the top on the greatness scale!

If you're looking for a quick meal, I had most of these ingredients in my pantry already! 

The only thing I would have to leave out was the hominy (::sigh::) but use what you have and get creative! We hope everyone is having a great week so far (it's almost over)!! Stay tuned! 

New recipes are coming soon!! 

~Happy Eating~

Stew for those colder Fall nights

Well, I don't know about where you are, but here at home the nights are getting pretty chilly outside! It's so nice to finally have some crisp, cool air to make us forget about those sweltering summer days! We had some leftover stew meat in the freezer before all the new venison got added to the mix, so we decided to try out a new recipe I have in my new cookbook I got from a friend for my birthday! You can find the cookbook here! I must admit, I have already sat down and began to read this cookbook like a book! It is chalked full of great ideas for almost anything you want/need in your kitchen! So, thanks to Martha Storey (author) and her friends, we got to work on her venison stew! Again, if you don't have wild game meat on hand you can always substitute it for whichever stew meat tickles your fancy!

Here are the ingredients we decided to use:
1/2 c (+ 3 TBS) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 lbs. venison coast (cut into 1 inch cubes) or ready to go stew meat
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 c boiling water
1 bay leaf
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 lg onion, diced (recipe calls for 12 small whole onions cut into chunks but we both prefer onions in our stew a little smaller) 
5-6 small carrots thin sliced, (recipe calls for 6 medium carrots, cut into chunks but I'm not a carrot person)
1/2 c of cold water
1 lg. green pepper diced (again it called for 2 large green peppers cut into rings...I don't like a lot of "chunky" vegetables in my stew)
3 small potatoes sliced into rounds, then quarter each round (we added this)
Note: We left out the frozen package of lima beans (again...not a fan)

Here's what you're going to do with all these fantastic ingredients:
1) Mix the 1/2 c flour with the salt and pepper. Take the meat and cover (dredge) the meat in the flour mixture. Make sure each piece is coated on all sides. Place the coated pieces aside on a plate.
2) We used a large skillet and added the 1/4 c of vegetable oil, then browned the meat on all sides.

3) Add the boiling water and bay leaf to the skillet with the meat. Cover it up and let it simmer for about 30 minutes!
4) Discard the bay leaf and add the bouillon cubes. (NOTE: We added 2 cubes to the water that we were boiling and then added one more cube after we put it all in the skillet.)
5) After it has simmered for half an hour add the onions and carrots (and potatoes if you so wish). 
6) Simmer for another 45 minutes or so. I think we left ours on there about an hour!
7) Serve in a bowl and ENJOY!

We left out a part of the original recipe where you remove the meat and vegetables and thicken the sauce with the left-over flour and cold water. We wanted more of "liquid soup" instead of something thick! It turned out just as hearty and we both loved it!

You'll see in the picture which I forgot to add that when we added the vegetables 

we added a can of fire roasted tomatoes to give it a kick. 

And seriously...I couldn't make stew without adding tomatoes :)

I hope ya'll had a great weekend! 

December will be here in just a few short days, and I can't wait to cookin'!!

~Happy Eating~

 

 andertoons.com

Fall is for Pho and Trix are for Treats

So, one thing I love about cooler weather is the fact that I can make foods that warm our soul! There is a soup called, Pho that is seriously one of my favorite cooler weather delights! It's spicy, it smells wonderful all day while cooking, it's warm and delicious! You really can't beat that! Dee Jay's co-worker was telling him about some Pho he had the other day and came home all excited about it, so I looked up the recipe and remembered what I could from previous times of making it and got to work! The recipe that I went off can be found at steamykitchen.com. Now let's get to work!

Pho is a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. You can also make it with beef, but for this recipe, I used chicken. To start out you are going to slice up a yellow onion into thin slices and get about an inch of ginger off the root. Turn on your broiler and put the onion and ginger on a cookie sheet and set under your broiler to cook. It took about 10-12 minutes total until the onion and ginger started to brown. You are going to want to check on it and turn over the pieces to make sure you cook evenly on both sides. Once your onion and ginger are finished, you are going to empty two containers (64 ounces total) of chicken stock into a big pot on the stove. Put the broth in a large pot on your stove and add one cinnamon stick and one package of chicken thighs (probably a pound or little more). Add the cut up, broiled ginger to the broth as well. Add about 2 tablespoons of sugar, and I used about one teaspoon of salt. Bring all this to boil and then lower the temperature to simmer the chicken for about 45 minutes or until it's cooked through. Now you are going to remove the chicken thighs from the stock and remove the skin and fat and bones. (We saved the skin for a crunchy surprise to top the soup with). Once you have the chicken meat pulled apart, you are going to put it in a separate bowl and add a little of the broth to keep it moist. Now you are going to strain the stock, and add sliced green onion (about 5-6), two tablespoons of fish sauce and your broiled onion slices. Bring all this back to a boil then simmer until ready to serve.

 

The chicken ready for the soup in a bowl with broth!

 

Now you are going to boil rice noodles as the package directs. It's going to take about 20 minutes total to cook the pasta, so while that's cooking let's get the garnish plate ready! You are going to take the rest of your onion slices that you haven't broiled and set out on a plate. Chop up some cilantro, serrano peppers, jalapenos, thai peppers, and add some bean sprouts to the plate. You are going to want to put out Sriracha hot sauce and Hoisin sauce to add to the bowl once you're ready to eat. By this time your noodles should be cooked, so go ahead and strain the water and rinse off the noodles with cold water! 

This is our garnish plate (minus the bean sprouts which I forgot to pick up at the store because Wal-Mart was out and I forgot to stop by the second store on the way home)

This is the broth simmering and waiting to be served!

Now you are going to prepare the soup to eat! Here is my ideal way to put this all together:

I add a good amount of noodles to cover a little less than half the bowl. I add the broth on top of the noodles until my bowl looks yummy and full! Then I add a little bit of each of the garnishments. (I know the Hoison sauce looks really "not appetizing" in the picture, but trust me that it is is soooo delicious)! Now all that is left for you to do is eat it ALL!!! I'm not kidding you, once you start on a bowl Pho, you are not going to want to stop! We're talking lick the bowl clean, fantastic!!

I warned you that the sauce does not make a pretty picture! 

But you're going to want it in there!! Trust me :)

 Now, onto a little dessert time! This recipe can be found on a fantastic blog titled Cravings of a Lunatic. This is so simple and extremely delicious. The only thing I would add to my description is to make this to eat right away (for parties, or work lunches etc). We let this set (covered) for a day or two and it went stale!! I was sad I only got two huge chunks of it before I had to start it over! All you are going to do it melt a bag of mini marshmallows and 1/4 cup of butter, and pour in about 10 cups of Trix cereal and stir. Put the mixture in a greased 9x13 pan and press down to fit the pan with a greased spoon (so it's doesn't stick), wait for it to set and then eat! It's that easy!!

So Delicious! And very colorful and fun for parties! 

If you have questions or would like to send me your favorite Fall recipes, feel free! I always love to hear your feedback and suggestions!

~Happy Eating~

 

gazpacho

Today’s the day! My last blog for Easy as Pie. It has been a blast talking with you all about food. I hope you have tried a few of my recipes or that they have inspired you to try something new.

I’m leaving you with one of my top ten favorite recipes. It’s not a brownie, a cookie or a cake--- it’s cold soup! Ha! But seriously, I wait all year to make gazpacho. I think it is one of my favorites because it is full of fresh ingredients that come together perfectly on their own. No cooking required. Just some chopping and a light dusting of salt and pepper and you have a beautiful, flavorful soup. In each bite you’ll taste a bit of each ingredient—the cool, bright cucumber, mild warmth of the red onion and garlic, earthiness of the tomato and red pepper. It’s the perfect summer first course or served as a meal with hunks of crusty bread for dipping.

This is so simple. But with a flavor that will make you feel like a top chef.

Chop up the vegetables in to similar sized cubes. The cucumber.

Vine ripe tomatoes--all the same or a combination of your favorites. I used some plain red slicers and about two cups of yellow cherry tomatoes. No real favor change—just what I had on hand.

A roasted red pepper, peeled and seeded. Sometimes I oven roast mine but I charred this one right on my gas burner. Flip it a few times until charred all over. Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to let it cool and sweat. You might want to do this first to give it time to cool. When it is, the skin will peel right off. Take out the seeds and stem after peeling and toss the pepper flesh in the blender.

Chop a red onion—I had a white one on hand.

Most gazpacho recipes call for a bit of bread which helps thicken the soup. You won’t even know it’s in there. I used one low cal slice of wheat bread.

Add a small amount of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

These ingredients fill my blender to the brim so I tend to add one ingredient and blend for a second. Add the next ingredient and blend. Eventually these flavors all blend together so the order doesn’t matter.

The final concoction is smooth, tangy and perfect. Add more salt to taste or a squeeze of lime for brightness. Chill before serving to allow time for the flavors to blend.

Keep cooking, friends. Enjoy every bite!

 

Gazpacho
adapted from My Father’s Daughter  

8 ripe vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled and cored
1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (about 2/3 cup)
1 roasted red bell pepper1/3 cup peeled and diced red onion (1/2 onion)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup 1/2-inch bread cubes, cut from day-old sourdough, country bread, ciabatta, or the like
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, halved
top with croutons for garnish

Combine all of the ingredients up the olive oil in a blender and blend until desired consistency. I like mine to be almost smooth with a little texture. Once blended, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lime and a few cubed cucumbers or croutons.

 

Make it before you Shake it...Tortellini Soup

So, last night I had my Shake it Fit dance class. I spent the afternoon on the phone with my best friend and of course lost complete track of time and realized I needed to do something for dinner for Dee Jay. I whipped this soup up in no time, turned the crock pot on, set the timer and took off! (Note to self: Don't mince garlic or onions or anything that leaves its scent on you for hours right before you go to a fitness class! I smelled garlic the ENTIRE time I was there lol)! Anyway, what is this easy and delicious meal you made you're asking?? Crock-Pot Tortellini Soup is it's name, and you won't want to stop eating it is it's game!! I found it on my Pinterest page after realizing I post A LOT of recipes on there that say things like, "200+ crock-pot recipes". So, I stumbled on to this one, and I'm so glad I did. Here's how I make it (before leaving to shake it)...

Take two cans (14 1/2 oz) of beef or vegetable broth (you can use low sodium if you want) and pour into the crock pot. Chop two cloves of garlic, one red bell pepper, and one medium sized zucchini and toss into the broth. Take one can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes and throw in the pot (juice and all).  Add 1/4 teaspoon of basil and a half of a teaspoon of garlic powder to the mix. (I know the recipe says to add corn and green onion, I totally missed that step in my "put it together as fast as I can" rush and it still tasted great. I make mistakes like this ALL the time, and most of the time it works out great)! Throw in one package (9 oz) of tortellini, I used the three cheese tortellini. And then you are going to brown one to one and half pounds of Italian sausage or beef, drain it and toss it in the crock-pot! (Note: I used Italian sausage which is very greasy, next time I will probably use ground venison or chicken because it will be less fat).

Presto! Turn your crock-pot on high and cook it for about 3 1/2 hours, serve it up and add some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and you have delicious tortellini soup for dinner!

~Happy Eating~

Kraft Crock-Pot Tortellini Soup

• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounce each) vegetable or beef broth
• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or Italian sausage; browned, drained & rinsed
• 1 can (15-1/4 ounce) whole kernel corn, drained
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press or minced
• 1/4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 can (28 ounce) diced tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups chopped zucchini (about one medium)
• 1 pkg. (9 oz.) tortellini; any flavor
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper
• Grated Parmesan, over the top for serving 

Mix together all the ingredients into a crock-pot (except for the cheese), turn on high and cook for 3 1/2-4 hours (ours did not even take the full 3 1/2). Serve in bowls with Parmesan cheese on top! (Don't wait too long or you will overcook the tortellini and it will be mushy)

creamy broccoli spinach soup - Lauren Conrad made me do it

Leah here. Last night's dinner was brought to us by Lauren Conrad. Yes, thanks to the Laguna Beach star I stumbled upon this bright broccoli spinach soup on Gourmande in the Kitchen blog. Pretty, huh?

 photo courtesy Gourmande in the Kitchen 

I haven't treated myself very well the last few weeks. Sure I've been eating decently and working out now and then. But afternoon trips to the company cafe for a cookie have increased. I've probably had too many pots of coffee and too many glasses of wine. Not enough good sleep. And I feel it. So as I planned my weekly family dinner menus I increased the number of veggies for each, jotted down salad ideas for lunches and smoothies chock full of greens to sip each morning. I'm trying to reboot.

And then I stumbled upon Lauren Conrad's Pinterst pages. It seems she has a website/blog. A cool blog. She pins cool things on Pinterest. Recipes. Fashion stuff. Hairstyles. Cute, cool girl. She seems in to food and has a healthy approach to eating. It's hard not to like her. She linked to on omelette recipe on Gourmande in the Kitchen blog which I followed and to my joy found not only beautiful photography like the picture above but healthy, clean, simple recipes. This creamy broccoli spinach soup with just two major ingredients--spinach and broccoli--was just what my toxic, tired body was craving.

I gave it a try with no real expectations. You simply steam two heads of broccoli and puree it in a blender with a few handfuls of raw spinach. Thin with warm water. A sprinkle of salt. I added a squeeze of lemon juice and a splash of milk, too.

And it tasted....healthy. I guess what I asked for? It was very smooth...but I couldn't get over the baby food texture. Steaming veggies. Pureeing them. Reminded me TOO much of my baby food making days. In fact, my two year old ate quite a bit of it. I sprinkled it with feta cheese which probably helped the appeal for both of us. I also added some roasted beets for no reason other than veggies + more veggies = SUPER healthy, right? Maybe next time I'll blend it with warmed chicken stock instead of water. Maybe some sauteed onion? Also, it's best served right away while bright green. I made this in the afternoon then reheated. By that point it was headed toward brown. Don't get me wrong, this is a simple and healthful dish. I felt full but nurished instead of full and bleck after a cheeseburger. It was what I needed to help me start my week with a jolt of vitamins. But I'm not sure this is a keeper for me. Meh. Can't all be winners.
Now I need your help. In my quest for health, I bought a sack....a HUGE sack....of spinach from my local farm stand. See? Huge.

It was the same price as a small container at the grocery store, so I went for it. I made soup...now what? Do you have a favorite way to cook or eat spinach? Leave me an idea in the comments--my too full refrigerator will thank you!  

Creamy Broccoli Spinach Soup
slightly adapted from Gourmande in the Kitchen 

INGREDIENTS
3 cups teamed broccoli (about two heads)
1 ½ cups fresh spinach leaves (about two-three handfuls)
Few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, stems removed (i added this but found it added bitterness)
1 ½ Tablespoons/ 15g of shelled hemp seeds (I didn't use)
1/8 teaspoon or a small pinch of fine sea salt (i used more, to taste)
1 cup hot water
*I added a splash of whole milk, though it is creamy without it

to garnish
1 to 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil to finish
1 oz feta cheese, crumbled to top
Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Place steamed broccoli, fresh spinach, parsley, hempseeds (if using) and salt in the pitcher of a high speed blender.

Add 1 cup of hot water and blend on high for about 3 to 4 minutes or until completely silky and smooth.

Serve topped with chunks of feta cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with a few spinach leaves if desired and season with freshly ground black pepper.

a different kind of chicken soup

Leah here. I really like making soup on Sundays. Not only is it (typically) an easy dish I can throw together while washing, drying and folding four or five loads of laundry--but there is plenty left over for lunch on Monday. One less thing to think about on a Monday morning: yes, please!

I flagged this soup right away when my April issue of Bon Appetit showed up in the mail. They included suggestions like doubling the batch of chicken meatballs to freeze and use for other quick dishes. People left glorious comments online about the flavor of this dish. I finally got around to it today and I have two words: NO JOKE. Not only did I want to simply snack on these little meatballs, but they would also be great simmered in marinara sauce and made into a meatball sub or tossed into a pasta. Maybe sliced in half and thrown on a homemade pizza. Next time, I will make double. But today I was making soup. 

A certain slim lady is often heard saying and tweeting, "use what you've got." I swear I said that way before her. In my head at least. When I read a recipe I'm usually making substitutions for 40 percent of the recipe---within reason. Don't have chives but have parsley? Sub it. Have turkey but not chicken? Should be fine. Brown sugar for white. Pancake syrup for real maple syrup. It isn't always an exact replica but rarely can you mess something up with some quick research and substitutions. Plus you save a few bucks by not buying brand new ingredients you only need a few pinches or smidgens of. 

Case in point, this recipe calls for ditalini or other small pasta. I didn't have any and didn't want to buy any. What I did have: giant pasta shells. 

Get creative. Use what you have. Break spaghetti up in to small pieces. Use spiral noodles. Or bash up shells in a food processor and you have...

Ta-da! Tiny pasta!

The meatballs come together quickly. I subbed dry bread crumbs for fresh because that's what I had. Parsley from my patio pots instead of chives which I think added a nice brightness. I love cooking with ground turkey but did buy ground chicken for this. It's actually cheaper. It also has a higher fat content making a very tender, tasty meatball.

This minestrone calls for carrots (which I had) and leeks which I splurged on. I knew they had a nice onion flavor but for a cost or ease perspective, green onions or even celery would have been fine here. I had spinach on hand but kale would have also worked. Just let it simmer a bit longer if subbing a heartier green. 

Start to finish, this soup took about 25 minutes. I ended up letting it cool down and reheating it making dinner time a snap. It says it's four servings but I'd argue for five or six especially if you served this along a salad or entree. We enjoyed ours with toasted dinner rolls. 

Easy, bright, springy and delicious. I chopped up the meatballs and veggies for my toddler minus the broth. Hubs, not typically a soup lover, complimented this after bite number one. Best part---we get to enjoy it again over lunch Monday!

Spring Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs
(Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit's April issue)

Ingredients
6 ounces ground chicken (I bumped it up to 8 oz or 1 pound)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used dry seasoned breadcrumbs with no trouble)
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, divided, plus more for garnish (about 1 cup total)
4 garlic cloves, 2 minced, 2 thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (I used parsley from my back porch)
1 large egg, whisked to blend
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (celery and/or spring onions would be a fine substitution)
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
3/4 cup ditalini or other small pasta (you saw my substitution, ha!)
1 cup 1/2-inch rounds peeled carrots
1 cup (packed) baby spinach (kale or other green might work here, just let it simmer longer)
Chopped fresh basil (i omitted)

Preparation per Bon Appetit
Mix chicken, breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp. Parmesan, 2 minced garlic cloves, chives, egg, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a medium bowl. Form into 1/2-inch-diameter meatballs (I got 27). Heat oil in a small pot over medium heat. Cook meatballs until golden all over, about 3 minutes (they will finish cooking in soup). Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Add sliced leek to large pot and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.

Add 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves; cook for 1 minute. Add broth and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and carrots; simmer until pasta is almost al dente, about 8 minutes. Add meatballs; simmer until pasta is al dente, carrots are tender, and meatballs are cooked through, about 3 minutes.

My note -- If you are making this ahead of time, stop here. Either simmer on low until ready to eat, or, if serving at a later time, let cook and store. Reheat when ready to serve.

When ready to serve, bring the soup back up to a simmer. Add spinach and remaining 3 Tbsp. Parmesan; stir until spinach is bright green and wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with chopped herbs and Parmesan.

Interested in a few more soup ideas? 

If you like the endless soup at Olive Garden you must try my friend Heather's version of Zuppa Toscana. HEAVEN. 


If you are a tomato lover and like a little bit of spice, try this spicy tomato and blue cheese soup from Leite's Culinaria. But trust me and HALF the amount of sriracha it calls for. Don't be brave. Just do it. 






Do you have any Sunday afternoon cooking traditions?