Italian Wedding Soup

This soup is a delicious alternative to Chicken noodle soup. 

We’ve enjoyed it at several Italian restaurants and I thought I’d try to duplicate it at home.

Here’s the recipe I came up with. You can easily double it to serve 10-12 people.

• 10 cups home made or purchased low sodium Chicken broth, divided
• Italian style meatballs (recipe follows)
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup uncooked Orzo (rice shaped pasta)
• large handful of chopped kale or spinach
• the rind of a piece of fresh Parmesan (if available)*
• several large leaves coarsely chopped fresh basil

For the Italian Style Meatballs:

• 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 teaspoon. salt
• 1/4 teapoon Montreal Steak Spice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese

1. Mix breadcrumbs, milk, beef broth and egg together.
2. Add ground beef, ground pork and remaining ingredients.
3. Form into small meatballs. (about 3/4 inch) I use a tablespoon to measure the amount for each meatball.
4. Cook meatballs 10 at a time in 2 cups of chicken broth. This will only take a few minutes for each batch. Cut one in half to see if it is done.
5. In another pot, cook sliced carrots until just tender.
6. Cook orzo in a separate pot of boiling water until “al dente”. (do not overcook)
7. Add cheese rind to chicken broth in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.
8. Turn heat down to a simmer and add meatballs, cooked carrots, cooked orzo pasta and chopped kale and basil.
9. Heat until kale is wilted.
10. Serve with a sprinkle of grated parmesan and chopped basil if desired.

Notes:
As with any soup recipe this one can be adapted to your taste. Some like it with garlic added to the broth. I’ve also seen it made with different leafy greens (arugula, curly endive, escarole)

Making the small meatballs is the tedious part of this recipe but you can prepare and cook them ahead of time and refrigerate them. The carrots and orzo can also be cooked ahead of time so they are all ready when you assemble the soup.

*I’ve noticed from my reading that Italians often add the rind or heal of Parmesan cheese to their soups. This not only uses up that last bit of cheese but adds flavour to the soup. And, it’s a a delicious mouthful if the melted cheese turns up in your bowl.

Spicy Chicken Rollups

These roll-ups would be a good dish for game day or an appetizer for any party. Choose the level of spice in your wing sauce to adjust the heat. I saw this recipe in my grocery store flyer.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 packet (1 ounce) ranch dressing seasoning mix
• 1/2 cup wing sauce like Frank's Wing Sauce
• 1-1/2 cups shredded roasted chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican mix cheese
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 6 - 10 inch flour tortillas
• Ranch dressing for dipping

Method:

1. In large bowl mix together the cream cheese and ranch dressing until well-combined.
2. Mix in the wing sauce.
3. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the chicken, cheese and green onions.
4. Spread mixture evenly across each tortilla.
5. Roll and refrigerate for 3 hours.
6. Slice and serve with a bowl of ranch dressing for dipping.
7. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Yield: Up to 60 roll-ups

Divide recipe in half for a smaller group.
Confession: When I made this recipe I forgot to add the cheese. Oops! We had very hot wing sauce on hand and the roll-ups were very spicy. I'd recommend medium or mild to please a larger crowd.

Taco Hand Pies

I made food for our grandson's road trip. He prefers hand held foods as they are not as messy. He likes tacos and so I thought taco hand pies would be just the thing. You can prepare the dough and filling the day before which makes it easy peasy to make the pies the following day. I love recipes where you can do the prep work ahead of time. You could make them smaller to serve as an appetizer at a party. They freeze well, thaw and reheat in oven.

Rich Flaky Dough:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups butter, cold and cut in cubes
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten for brushing
• 2 teaspoons water

1. In food processor pulse flour and salt a few times, add butter and keep pulsing until butter is in small pieces. You still want pieces of butter to be visible.
2. Add ice cold water slowly pulsing just until dough comes together.
3. Dump dough on slightly floured surface and gather dough together in a ball. Divide into 4 pieces and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in waxed paper and refrigerate overnight or at least for an hour.
4. Remove from fridge, roll out each piece 1/8" thick and cut rounds using a 4" biscuit cutter.
5. Brush edges of each round with beaten egg and water mixture, place a rounded tablespoon of taco filling mixture in the center and fold dough over to make a half moon. 
6. Press edges closed with a flour dipped fork. 
7. Once you have made all your pies, brush with remaining egg and water mixture and pierce tops 2 or 3 times with a fork.
8. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake in a 400º oven for 18 minutes until golden in color. 

Taco Filling Mixture:

• 10 oz ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco powder
• 1 cup refried beans
• 1 roma tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup green sweet pepper, chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheese

*Update: I realized the taco filling mixture is for half the dough recipe. So if you want to make this amount of dough that I stated you will need to double the taco mixture.

1. Fry ground beef until browned, breaking it into small pieces while frying.
2. Remove from heat and stir in taco powder, refried beans, tomato, green pepper, and shredded cheese until well combined.
3. Yield: 44 hand held pies. They are good hot or at room temperature. Eat plain or dip in taco sauce or sriracha mayo. Taste great served with a salad.

Oreo Salad

Today is our son's birthday. Every year he is so excited to celebrate his special day. One year his home manager brought this salad for his birthday and it's been a favorite of his ever since. His eyes will light up when he sees this bowlful arriving at the party. Actually I find this is more of a dessert but it's called a salad. Fruit can be added if desired. You would add fruit at the same time as the cookies. This recipe is adapted from Kraft's website.

• 4 cups milk
• 2 - large packages instant vanilla pudding
• 2 - 1 litre container of whipped topping
• 2 packages Oreo cookies, chopped in coarse pieces. 

1. Combine milk and both packages of pudding in a large bowl. Whisk until pudding sets up.
2. Stir in whipped topping until well combined.
3. Chop cookies into coarse pieces. Put a few chopped cookies aside to decorate the top.
4. Fold cookie pieces into creamed pudding mixture. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Serves: 15 

Antipasto Platter

 An antipasto platter is a great dish to share at a New Year's Eve party or to have around on New Year's Day while you enjoy football or other festivities. Here are some ideas for putting together a crowd pleasing platter.

  If available start with a colorful base like this rainbow Kale or another large leaf green.

 Choose 3 or 4 different kinds of Italian cured meats to add to the platter. If using prosciutto separate it ahead of time and twist it into a bud shape so it's easy for your guests to pick up. (Upper left)

 This is fresh mozzarella that I added a little olive oil, chopped parsley and red pepper flakes to. The other cheese on the platter is provolone that I bought in larger slices and cut into chunks myself.

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These are red pepper slices that I added chopped garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper to before I added them to the platter.

 I also added pepperoncini, marinated artichokes with a circle of olives in the center. Serve with breadsticks or baguette slices alongside the platter.

Enjoy being creative with the ingredients you choose to build this platter for your guests and family. Here's a second platter I made for another event we attended with friends.

On this platter I used a bunch of radishes for the center of the platter. I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Church Meatballs / Meatballs in a Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Today is our wedding anniversary. We got married in 1983 and it was still common for the ladies of the church to prepare the wedding meal. Our wedding meal consisted of fried chicken, church meatballs, mashed potatoes, coleslaw corn and for dessert....Black Forest Cake, Brownies and platz. We also had over 300 people at our wedding.  Today such a large wedding would not be as easy if you are paying a caterer at a costly price.
These meat balls were a standard fare for any church type of banquet. Wedding, Thanksgiving, Fundraisers, you name it, these meatballs were on the table. Now it seems that these homemade wedding meals are a thing of the past. Just for fun  I will give you the recipe version that feeds 300, and the pared down version to feed a family. I hope you try it and enjoy it. They are great to take along to potlucks and family gatherings. They can prepared days in advance and even frozen. The longer they sit in the sauce the better they are.

For 300:

• Meatballs made from 30 lbs of ground beef (use your favorite recipe for meatballs)
• 19 tins of golden mushroom soup (10 oz size)
• 10 tins of tomato soup (10 oz size)
• 1 litre (4 cups) each of ketchup and BBQ sauce
• 1 litre (4 cups) of half and half cream 

Family size recipe

• 3 lbs of ground beef
• 1 large onion, grated
• 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Shape into little meat balls.
3. Place onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with a lightly greased sheet of foil for easy clean up.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or til brown.

Sauce

• 2 cans of C*mpbells Golden Mushroom Soup* (10 oz can)
• 1 can of Tomato Soup (10 oz can)
• 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup of ketchup
• 1/2 cup of cream or evaporated milk

1. Combine above ingredients and pour over prepared meatballs.
2. May be put in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours, or bake at 350 for 1 hour.
3. Serve with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and veggies. For dessert a try Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Icing, delicious.

* Sometimes it is difficult to find Golden Mushroom Soup. In place of that Cream of Mushroom with 1 teaspoon of beef bouillon or onion soup mix added per can is a good substitute.

Chalupa

This is a recipe that cooks for several hours so start it earlier in the day. You can enjoy a few meals during your week with the yield from this recipe.
Chalupa
Ingredients:

• 1 pound pinto beans
• 3 pounds boneless pork
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1- 4 ounce can of diced jalapenos (if you like a little heat) or…
• 1- 6 ounce can of diced green chilies
• 1/2 – 1 cup Pace Picante sauce (or any brand of Mexican sauce/salsa available in your area)

Method:

1. Put all ingredients in dutch oven or crock pot. 
2. Cover and simmer about 5 hours or until roast falls apart and the beans are soft. 
3. Uncover shred the meat and cook to thicken to desired consistency. 
4. If using a crock pot cook on low for 8-9 hours. 
5. Check after 5 hours to make sure the beans haven’t absorbed all the liquid. 
6. Add 1 cup water at a time if you need to. 
7. After the meat is cooked and beans are soft shred the pork.
8. Enjoy this meat with corn or flour tortillas and with toppings of your choice. 

This would also work well wrapped in a small flour tortilla and deep fried. I’ve seen Chalupas on Mexican Restaurant menus served in this deep fried form.

Ham &Tri-Colored Peppers with Spaghetti

This can be made with left over ham, or low fat deli ham, cut into strips sauteed together in a light broth and poured over whole wheat Spaghetti, makes a nice light sauce.
This meal is done as quickly as it takes to cook the Spaghetti, faster than ordering take out and more economical healthier too! This makes enough sauce for a 375 gm package of regular or Whole Wheat Spaghetti.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 orange pepper
• 2 cups of deli ham or left over ham
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

1. Saute julienne (thinly sliced into strips) peppers for a few minutes to soften them.
2. Add the ham (also sliced into thin strips) and the remaining ingredients.
3. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. *Pour sauce over Spaghetti and serve with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, if desired*.

This is also a very economical meal to make for a crowd at a Potluck dinner. Very easily doubled or tripled.
*Don't add the sauce until you are ready to serve it, other wise it all soaks into the Spaghetti and can get dry.*

Wassail ( Hot Spiced Tea)

On behalf of our MGCC team,
I wish very one of you dear readers and followers of our blog

a VERY blessed Happy New Year!

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My friend in the deep south has a family tradition of drinking 'Wassail' on Christmas Day. I think we might call it Hot Punch.

I remember in the early 80's we were at a meeting one winter evening where the hostess made a hot spiced fruit punch . It was the first time I had had anything like it and I still remember the taste of the first surprise sip!

This Wassail is just like it! I love it ! and when it is cooking the smell in the house is delightful!

I know Christmas is past ... but I think this hot spiced tea would be lovely for New Year's too -- or any winter day!

So, here is the Wassail recipe courtesy of my friend Tammie!

Ingredients

• 1/2 gal. unsweetened tea (I used 8 cups of boiling water and 9 Orange Pekoe tea bags)
• 46 oz. of Pineapple juice
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 24 whole Cloves
• 24 whole allspice (or 3 tsp of ground allspice)
• 1 tin of frozen orange juice (12oz/355ml)
• 1 tin of frozen lemonade (12 oz/355 ml)
• 2 cups sugar ( I found this a little too sweet - I think 1 1/2 cups is lots)
• 5 cups water

Method

1. Bring the first 5 ingredients to a boil in a huge soup pot (larger than a 5 quart size)
2. Boil for 15 minutes
3. then add the sugar and frozen juices
4. Add 5 cups of water to make a total of 5 quarts wassail.
5. Heat until hot. Serve .... can be kept warm in a slow cooker for a party.

200 cal. per 8 oz serving with significant Vitamin C .

**Note -- Don't forget to make your New Year's fritters ! Click on the picture at the top right side bar for the regular recipe or find my GF recipe here.

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