Meatball Soup

My Mother & Father-in-law are visiting for the holiday season.  As always, my father-in-law brought along some great recipes!  Tonight, we had meatball soup which was a simple and filling supper when paired with a loaf of crusty bread!  I ramped it up a bit with fresh baked meatballs which I made earlier today.  You can use packaged turkey or beef meatballs if you don’t have time to make your own.  I’ll include the meatball recipe after the soup recipe.  

Meatball Soup:

(Serves 10)

2 tbsp olive oi

1 cup carrots diced

1 cup onion diced

3/4 cup celery diced

1 medium zucchini 

1 Jalapeño Pepper

4 green onions sliced thin

1 (15oz) can great northern beans, rinsed & drained 

2 (14oz) cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (32oz) carton of reduced sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

6 tbsp brown rice

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

16-20 meatballs, frozen & cooked according to package or fresh (see recipe below)

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add all the diced vegetables. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, water, rice, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add meatballs, cover and allow to simmer for another 45 minutes.

Baked Meatballs: 

1 pound lean ground beef 

1 pound ground pork

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 small onion, diced

4 tbsp marinara

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp basil

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well, do not over mix or you will have tough meatballs.
3. Roll about 2 tbsp portion of meat mixture into a ball and place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture to make approximately 40 meatballs.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.
   

Enjoy!

Baked Sea Scallops

Hello, All!!  I’m back!  It has been a long while since my last post. Life has been so crazy the last couple of years, I haven’t had the time to post.  I missed it so I’m going to make a bigger effort to get back in the blogging groove! 😊

My family really enjoys seafood so I try to make it at least once s week.  Shrimp is our usual fare and I’ve publish quite a few recipes using shrimp,  Tonight’s dinner was sea scallops which are my husband’s favorite!  Scallops cook quickly when you pan sear them which makes timing sides a bit tricky.  I found a baked recipe which I like because it takes 20 minutes without over cooking the scallops.  It is super flavorful with Parmesan cheese and a nice mix of spices! Hope you try this recipe & enjoy it as much as we do!

Baked Sea Scallops

Ingredients

 • 1.5 lb. large sea scallops 

 • 6 tblsp butter, melted

 • 2 tbsp sherry 

 • 1 tbsp lemon juice

 • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

 • 1 tsp kosher salt

 • 1/2 tsp black pepper

 • 1 tsp garlic powder

 • 1 tsp dried parsley

 • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

 • 1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

* Rinse the scallops and pat dry. Place in a lightly greased casserole dish.

* In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the butter, wine, lemon juice, 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried parsle, sweet paprika & cayenne pepper,

* Spoon a little of the mixture on top of each scallop.

* Cover the pan with foil and bake until scallops are cooked through and opaque. This should take about 20 minutes.

* Uncover the scallops and broil for a minute or two to brown. Serve immediately!!

Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

One of the easiest ways to make chicken!   It only takes 10-15 minutes to prep and it slow roasts in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours on low.  I’ve been making whole roast chicken this way for many years because the meat comes out so moist and delicious!

Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken, patted dry & giblets removed

2 lg Onions, cut in eighths

4 tsp Lawry’s Season Salt

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Parsley

1/2 tsp Black pepper

1/2 tsp Cayene pepper

Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Put the chicken on top of the onions.  Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.  Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Remove the chicken from the slow cooker & let rest for 15 minutes before removing skin & carving.  Enjoy!!

Finally Back Live!

Hi, Everyone!! I’ve been away quite awhile because the Blogger App that I was using stopped working.  I found a new app that allows me to hook back up to my blog.  I’m so excited to be back! 

I will catch up on my posts over the next few days as I have lots of new recipes to share!  

Hope to see comments & maybe sharing of your recipes, kitchen tips & tricks!

Best Regards,

Debbie