Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs

I have the best dog of all time. After spending hours yesterday creating this amazing soup, I went to store it in the refrigerator and missed the shelf completely, letting go of the container so that it hit the floor and exploded everywhere. An entire quart of chicken stock and turkey meatballs spilled in growing puddles all over the kitchen floor and all I could do was watch. My neighborhood was stunned into silence at the expletives issuing from my apartment. Even Eric and Mia, who witnessed the whole disaster, had no words.

My chicken loving Chihuahua stood there in shock, as the scent of warm chicken stock filled the air. Even minutes later, once all the shock was past, I was in tears, and Eric began consoling, Mia continued to stand there, just watching, being the best dog that there ever was. It's possible she could sense how sad her mommy was (though I doubt it). The more likely reason was the training we've just started helped her "stay" for the treat until she was given the command. Though, there was definitely some confusion and intuition there. I imagine what was going on in her little brain was something like: "Mom just went crazy over this chicken stuff, she's really stressed out and I want to please her by being a good girl. I'm going to stay and then she'll give me chicken." She was so good that after I cleaned up the bulk of the mess, she got to clean up the rest.

Honestly this was one of my worst food fails ever. I could care less about spilt milk--I made each and every single one of those tiny turkey meatballs by hand. I drove to the store for the sole purpose of buying little star shaped noodles. And it was about 80 degrees in my kitchen. It was such a stupid clumsy accident that I can really only blame it on the fact I had changed into my glasses very early this particular evening, as I was having irritation in one of my eyes. My glasses are a whole prescription higher than my contacts and I can't see out of them nearly as well. I've been putting off buying new lenses for two years and I really need to get new ones. This was the last straw.

Poor mom. Poor meatball soup. It really was delicious! At least I was able to take a few pictures before it went on the floor. I even enjoyed a couple small bowls. I will definitely make it again, and I hope someone else will, too!

Ingredients:

1/4 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (or nondairy alternative)
1/8 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup fresh baby spinach, packed
1/4 cup tiny uncooked noodles
fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. To make the meatballs, combine turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. Mix with your hands until all ingredients are well blended.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a medium size casserole dish with cooking oil. Using a tablespoon to scoop, shape mixture into bite size mini meatballs and place in casserole dish. They can be close together but not touching. Cook for 15 minutes.

3. While meatballs are cooking, prepare your broth in the crock pot. Add chicken stock, onion, carrot, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Save the greens and noodles for later.

4. When the meatballs are done, add them to the chicken broth in the crock pot. Cook on high for two-three hours. During the last 10-15 minutes of cooking, add noodles and stir. Set a kitchen timer to help. When there are three minutes left, add the spinach and stir. Once the timer goes off, remove from heat. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and parsley. Don't spill.

Simple Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup with Kale

I just came back from a month long trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I was born and raised. We have an amazing soup there called Italian Wedding Soup, which, I just found out, is not actually Italian.

At any Italian restaurant (or often any restaurant) in Pittsburgh, you can order a bowl of Italian Wedding Soup. My favorite kind is the light version served at the chain restaurant Olive Garden. Since I was not very cultured and didn't travel much before moving out of Pittsburgh, when I went to the Olive Garden in California I tried ordering Wedding Soup. It's not usually on the menu in Pittsburgh because it's such a popular item and everyone knows it's there--you just have to ask for it. But the California waiter had no idea what I was talking about.

I always thought Italian Wedding Soup was an Italian tradition. Though, apparently, Italian Wedding Soup is a Western Pennsylvania tradition started by immigrants to the area. According to my quick research, Italian Wedding Soup is a mistranslation of a soup called "marriage soup," which is actually Spanish.

Here is a quick version to make in the crock pot using kale instead of the traditional spinach. Italian Wedding Soup is usually made with really tiny meatballs and pasta. Unless you make the meatballs yourself, you might not be able to find them small enough, but you can always cut slightly thawed frozen Italian meatballs into quarters before putting in the crock pot.

Ingredients:

1 small package frozen italian meatballs (15-20)
5 oz can low sodium chicken, rinsed and drained
32 oz chicken broth
2 cups kale, stems removed and chopped (can also use spinach)
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup-1/2 cup pastina pasta
parmesan reggiano for serving

Directions:

1. Add meatballs, chicken, broth, spices, and onion to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 3 hours.


2. Add pasta and kale (or spinach) to the pot, and cook for an additional hour on high. Serve
topped with parmesan reggiano if desired.

Carrot Soup

Getting over the flu? Trying to boost your immune system? Do you have a fridge full of leftover carrots? Or are you just looking for a warm and soothing meal for those cold winter nights? If you answered yes to one or all of the above questions (like I did), then try some of my rich, milk-less carrot soup. It's sweet, spicy, healthy, and very addicting.

I make it with chicken broth, but use vegetable broth to make a yummy vegan soup. This recipe calls for garlic olive oil, though a teaspoon of minced garlic thrown in at the end will work just as well. Make sure to add one or two teaspoons more butter or oil to the saucepan. I recommend using a food processor for this recipe to get the smoothest consistency.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons garlic olive oil
2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
dash ground ginger
dash sea salt
dash black pepper

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups raw carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:
1. In a 6 quart saucepan, heat Smart Balance over medium low until melted. Add garlic olive oil and stir to combine. Add onions, carrots, curry powder, red pepper, ginger, salt and pepper and stir to coat, cooking until the onions are tender, about five minutes.

2. Add chicken stock, stirring to blend. Bring soup to a boil, stirring occasionally.

3. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Carrots need to be soft enough to puree. Remove from heat and prepare food processor.

4. In a food processor, ladle a small amount of soup from the saucepan at a time. Puree each batch for at least 20 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape out the pureed carrot soup into a fresh saucepan. It will have a smooth, creamy consistency and a bright orange color.

5. Heat the pureed carrot soup over medium heat until hot, then it is ready to serve. To make a thinner consistency, more chicken broth can be added after the pureeing process.

           

Dairy Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup

My dairy free broccoli cheddar soup is sweet, rich, and creamy, just like the dairy version. I've been craving this soup since one of my friends ordered a big bowl of it at Panera. It looked so delicious I decided to make some. Plus, it's flu season; soup is soothing and broccoli is high in vitamin C. This is my flu shot.

The combination of sweet onion and sweetened almond milk makes a perfect dairy free soup base. I recommend following the first few steps to make any recipe that may call for a cream based canned soup. It can always be pureed in a food processor for a smoother texture. Also, this particular soup can be used as a base for, say, a chicken and rice casserole.

For the cheese part, I recommend using Trader Joe's Shredded Soy Cheese Blend for flavor if you are just lactose intolerant, but it's not completely vegan. For vegan soup I recommend using vegetable broth and Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, although the flavor is a bit different. To achieve a better-than-dairy-broccoli-cheddar flavor, I added only 1/2 cup Daiya Style Shreds and then 1/2 cup parmesan in this batch. It's amazing to me.

Sometimes I like to use what I call a fake cheese cocktail: a mixture of different soy or veggie based cheeses to achieve a more natural flavor. The cheddar style flavors can be very strong, and they taste more realistic if toned down with parmesan flavor or mozzarella. Experiment with different brands, but I usually agree that less is more when it comes to adding fake cheese. Try half a cup and judge the flavor, then add more if you like it.


Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups sweetened almond milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese alternative
3 cups fresh broccoli, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, melt Smart Balance over medium low heat. Add onions, salt, and pepper and cook for five minutes or until onions are tender.

                 

2. Add flour and cook for two minutes.

                 

3. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until well combined and cook for five minutes. Whisk in almond milk, and then stir in broccoli. Cook uncovered at a simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until broccoli is tender, stirring occasionally. Do not bring to a boil.

                

                

                

4. Once broccoli is tender, whisk in the cheddar cheese alternative until melted. Depending on the brand used it can be tricky to melt completely, so I say whisk it. Whisking will also break down some of the larger broccoli pieces, creating a smoother soup. Remove saucepan from heat and serve the broccoli cheddar soup in a colorful bowl with your favorite crackers.

                
                

       

Sweet and "Creamy" Pumpkin Soup

I've always been disappointed by ready to serve butternut squash soups when I read the label and find out they are made with milk or cream. Recently I found one at Whole Foods that was made with soy milk, but I have to say it was a little bland. The taste of soy took away from the delicious sweetness of the butternut squash. So I had a go at creating my own "creamy" soup, and I used canned pumpkin since it was so readily available. The vanilla soy milk I used made it so thick and sweet that my husband and I devoured it! The sage and black pepper balances out the sweetness so it doesn't taste like you are slurping pumpkin pie. It makes a great compliment to an entree of chicken or turkey. I will probably make this again for our Thanksgiving dinner feast!

Ingredients
1 15ounce can pumpkin
1 1/2 pumpkin cans of Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions
1. Empty pumpkin into at least a 2 quart saucepan and place burner on medium heat.
2. Measure the soy milk in the empty pumpkin can. Slowly stir in Very Vanilla Soymilk until evenly blended.
3. Add sage, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and sea salt and heat until almost boiling, stirring often.
4. Ladle in a bowl, sprinkle with ground sage, and serve with buttery crackers. We like Social Snackers from Trader Joes; they are dairy free and contain no hydrogenated oils, yet still maintain that buttery taste that is so addicting.

Meatball Vegetable Soup For Two

A crock pot is a busy girl's best friend in the kitchen; in this soup recipe, you literally throw everything in the pot and forget about it for four hours. There is minimal chopping prep, and no extra cooking or searing. This low maintenance recipe is a meal in itself: hearty, delicious, healthy, and will only leave you with leftovers for tomorrow (unless you decide to have thirds). You can easily add more vegetables to this soup, like frozen green beans or corn. It also goes well with egg noodles, orzo, or kidney beans thrown in if you want to make it a bit more complicated. But I think it's just right with the minimal ingredients, and super simple. This meatball soup is a perfect meal for two, especially on a chilly summer night. Best served with warm sourdough bread or some flavorful crackers.


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups beef broth
2 cups party size frozen meatballs from your health foods store (no fillers or preservatives)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 small gold potatoes, cubed
1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Dash of sea salt and black pepper

Directions:
1. After chopping the vegetables, throw beef broth, meatballs, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper into the crock pot and stir well. Cover and cook on high for four hours or on low for six hours. Go do something else and come back for dinner!