Italian Wedding Soup

We had lunch with my grandma a while ago. She lives in a great home where we can join her for a yummy lunch. We were served Italian Wedding Soup, which I'd never heard of. It's full of veggies and sausage (my favorite!). I've made it twice now and think it's awesome. My kids likened it to chicken noodle soup the first time I made it. For me, I'd take it over chicken noodle soup anytime. For this recipe, I'm actually going to try to remember to prep a few things before actually cooking :).

1.5x this recipe served 6 last night. Homemade rolls would have been an awesome accompaniment.

PREPARATION--AND START EARLY ENOUGH (5 pm?) THAT THE SOUP ISN'T SCALDING WHEN IT'S TIME TO SIT DOWN TO DINNER :)
Do some chopping and set these aside:
1 c chopped carrots 
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
any other veggies (I've done zucchini)

Form 1/2 inch balls out of:
6 oz turkey sausage (or was it chicken sausage that I bought?)

COOKING:
Saute your veggies in olive oil in your soup pot (or skip this step and cook veggies in the broth). Vegetables do need longer than the meat and pasta if you want them tender (see bottom note).

Add and bring to a boil:
4 c chicken broth (if watching salt intake, use low sodium)

Add your sausage balls and let simmer for 4 minutes or until just cooked through.

Add and simmer for 12 minutes:
3 c baby spinach, chopped if desired
1/2 c Acini di Pepe

Use fresh parsley and shredded Parmesan for garnish.

Update: I made this soup again just for myself without the Acini and without sauteing the veggies. It was great. The very first time I made it I added pepper, but the sausage is spicy enough for me. No pepper needed. Since I wasn't doing pasta in it, I just cooked the sausage balls for 15 min or so with the veggies and everything was perfect. Another note: carrots and broccoli are really good after 12 minutes, but I prefer my celery a little more cooked, so I'd saute celery and onions very first and then add everything else. And, if you cook the acini di pepe separately you can choose how much you want and avoid the noodles soaking up too much of your broth! Next time I make it I should just redo this whole recipe write-up, huh?

Roasted Roots

I've made this enough that I need to put it on the blog. I love this way of getting my vegetables in the winter. You can do any combination of veggies. I've done regular potatoes for my kids who don't like sweet potatoes, I've done Brussels sprouts (they might not need to cook as long as other things), and Karin has done kale. Karin says to add summer sausage to make it a meal.

½ lb. sweet potatoes
5 carrots/parsnips (a combination) scrubbed and cubed
1 red onion peeled and cut into wedges (I've done sweet regular onion too)
1-2 turnips peeled and cut into cubes or wedges
2 beets peeled and cut into cubes or wedges
5+ cloves of garlic (up to a whole head) peeled, and halved
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and red onions in a large bowl and toss together.
3. With the side of a knife, gently smash each clove of garlic and add it to the bowl of vegetables.
4. Add the herbs and olive oil to the vegetables and generously season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the seasoned vegetables onto a large roasting pan and spread in a single layer.
6. Roast vegetables in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. (Gently stirring the vegetables halfway through the cooking time) Serve.

Buon Giorno Pizza

At my hubby's favorite pizza restaurant there happens to be a pizza just for me: a breakfast one! So next time you feel like some different toppings on your pizza, try these:

olive oil drizzle
jalapenos, finely diced (sparingly, for me)
sausage, browned
baked potato slices (leftover hashbrowns work too)
cubed yummy cheeses (I think they use 5 different ones)

Then for the kicker, you crack an egg on the center of the pizza

and if you feel like Buddy the Elf, lightly drizzle maple syrup over the whole thing (I omit).

Then bake it!

Skillet Lasagna

This is so easy and fast that I don't know when I'll bother to make a traditional lasagna again.

• ground beef/turkey/sausage, browned with onions, garlic, whatever (half and half beef and sausage is probably my favorite) and drained
• 16 oz pasta (I love bowtie the best), cooked and drained
• 1 can/jar pasta sauce (I sometimes puree it with spinach)
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese (half a small container)
• handful of mozzarella cheese (or more if you like it really cheesy)
• salt and pepper to taste

To crisp it up, put it all in a casserole dish and bake it to desired crispness. Otherwise, mix everything into the noodle pot, make sure it's nice and hot, and take the pot right to your table!

True Lasagna

I got this recipe from my sweet friend who served a mission in Italy. I've changed it around a little so part of it's done in the crockpot and I tried oven-ready noodles last time (gasp! I know, I'm SO not authentic). The trick is that it has a white sauce instead of cottage cheese or ricotta in it--so yummy. And the original recipe actually calls for adding pats of butter on top before cooking it. So if you need a little more fat in your diet, go ahead and do that :).

Update for my kids: omit tomato sauce, puree 2 cans tomatoes, and skip the carrots and celery.

In crockpot (or on the stove, sauteeing the veggies and then letting simmer with everything else) make your red sauce:
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned and drained
1 small onion, diced
2 grated carrots
1 celery stick, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
basil and parsley to taste

I let it go for about 4 1/2 hours on low (my sausage--already cooked--and onions were frozen) while we were at church.

Make your white sauce on the stove:
6 TB butter
scant 3/4 cup flour
2 1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste (for me, about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper)

Grate 1 cup parmesan cheese (to divide up between layers--you can also use mozzarella for even cheesier)
Cook 9 lasagna noodles (or use oven-ready like I did last time)

Dirty a 13x9 dish with red sauce. Layer like this three times:
3 noodles
red sauce
white sauce
parmesan

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
If refrigerated first, bake for 30-40 minutes.

If using oven-ready noodles, bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour (check after 50 min.) with double foil covering it.

Tortellini and Italian Sausage Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic
1 cup water (I added more after cooking to make it less spicy, so add more to taste)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 tsp. oregano
1 ½ cup sliced zucchini
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
5 or more cups beef broth
1 can cut-up tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. cheese tortellini (I used a whole package, which was like 12 oz)
Grated parmesan cheese

Brown sausage in large pot with onions and garlic. Add beef broth, water, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered at least 30 minutes. Skim fat. Stir in zucchini and tortellini, simmer covered 30-40 min. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on each serving.

(friend Melissa)

Potato Sausage Cream Soup

This is my ultimate comfort food--I cannot eat just one bowl of this soup.


½ pound ground sausage (I used mild Italian sausage)

5-7 thinly sliced red potatoes

3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes)

1 cup heavy cream

Parsley flakes, salt & pepper, Romano cheese

In a frying pan, brown sausage. Drain grease. In a soup pot, boil 3 cups chicken broth. Add sliced potatoes. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Add sausage. Stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Simmer uncovered to allow flavors to blend. Sprinkle Romano cheese on top just before serving.


(Some versions of this recipe include kale.)

(from friend Melissa)