Meatball and Macaroni Soup

Another 5-star recipe! Wow, this soup has such great flavor! We all loved it! We'll definitely make this again. Here's the recipe:

Meatball & Macaroni Soup - Rachael Ray
2 T. EVOO
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb ground beef, pork, and veal combined (we couldn't find veal)
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated parmigiano reggiano (we used the parmesan in a green container)
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1/2 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. dried pasta: rings, broken fettuccini or ditalini
1 lb triple-washed fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
In a deep pot over medium heat, add oil, chopped carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook veggies, 5 or 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the veggies cook, combine ground meats, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add broth and water to the pot of veggies. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat a bit and start to roll meat mixture into small balls, dropping them straight into the pot. When you are done rolling the meat, add pasta to the soup and stir. Cover and simmer soup, 10 minutes. When pasta is tender, stir in chopped spinach in batches. When spinach has wilted, the soup is done and ready to serve. Adjust your seasonings, and serve with crusty bread or grilled 4 cheese sandwiches. Makes 4 big servings. 5 stars!!!



Grilled 4 Cheese Sandwiches. These were pretty good, but not worth the hassle of finding the cheeses. It calls for provolone, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Asiago cheese. Rachael says in the book, "All of these cheeses are available in specialty cheese case and dairy aisle already shredded." Yah....not so much. Not in REAL America. I did really enjoy the flavor given by brushing the bread with the melted olive oil/butter/garlic mixture. We'll give these 4 stars. It's on page 101 in the book.





Chocolate Dipped Bananas, from page 100. Guest chef Michelle makes another appearance today! Here, she's dipping skewered bananas in melted chocolate. This was a tasty little dessert, especially since Ghirardelli chocolate was used! Yum! We found it was hard to roll the coated bananas in the toppings; some of them were lumpy messes. Still, we enjoyed them. 4 stars.

No-Mystery Meat

Another winner from Rachael Ray! This recipe is made to be adapted. You can use beef, chicken, pork, or even portobello mushrooms. What made this dish so tasty was the pan gravy! Wow, we couldn't get enough. Here's the recipe:

No-Mystery: Marinated Beef, Chicken, Pork or Portobello Mushrooms
3 T. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. EVOO
2 cloves, garlic, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T chopped fresh parsley
4 beef tournedos, strip steaks, boneless skinless chicken breasts, pork loin chpos or portobello mushroom caps (we used the steaks)
salt and freshly ground pepper
Pan Gravy
2 T. butter
2 T chopped shallots or onion
4 mushrooms, crimini or button, finely chopped
2 T. flour
1 cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock
Combine marinade ingredients in the bottom of a shallow dish. Season meat of choice with salt and pepper and set into marinade and turn to coat. Allow meat to hang out 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add marinated meat and cook 5 or 6 minutes on each side. Remove to a warm platter. Add butter to the skillet, then chopped shallots or onion and mushroom bits, and saute 3 minutes over moderate heat. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in stock and reduce for another minute. Pour over meat and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Five Stars!!!

Broiled Tomatoes

Fine, but basic. Needed salt. 3 stars.


Mixed Baby Greens with Mandarin Orange and Cucumber in Sesame Dressing

Not a bad little salad. We've seen this before. We liked the addition of sesame oil. 4 stars.


Indian Spiced Fruit

The nutmeg, cinnamon and clove mixture was an unusual surprise and made us think of Christmas. Not too bad. Leftovers didn't get eaten, however. 3 1/2 stars.



Chocolate Mint Parfaits

We made the Shirley Temple version and skipped the creme de menthe liqueur, but you certainly can't go wrong with mint chocolate chip ice cream and Andes mints! Yum! 4 stars.