Italian Wedding Soup, otherwise known as heaven in a bowl :)

It is down right frigid in most of the country and I have a cold :( There is only one cure for the chill in the air and my bones...Italian Wedding Soup! This is my very favorite soup. For me, chicken noodle's got nothing on this glorious combination of meatballs, pasta and spinach. Like most truly wonderful things, this soup is very simple yet delicious. I feel an episode of Gilmore Girls and a warm blanket calling so today's post will be short and sweet....on to the recipe!

Get it together peeps...Mise En Place!

Ingredients:

For Meatballs: (note: this is not a typical stand alone meatball, it has been adjusted to marry nicely in this soup)

3 lbs ground beef (you can use combo of pork and beef but I like just 80/20 beef)

½ cup parmesan or romano (freshly grated always a joy)

1.5 cups bread crumbs, fresh or store bought

2 cloves minced garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

For soup:

1 lb pearl pasta or acini di pepe (if you prefer a more broth heavy soup reduce the pasta by 1/3)

32 oz chicken broth (low sodium)

32 oz beef stock (not broth, better mouth feel this way)

1 package frozen cut leaf spinach or roughly 3 cups fresh wilted

1 medium onion chopped or 1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh, minced

First start by making your meatballs. You can just put all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and begin mixing by hand. I prefer to combine the dry ingredients to evenly combine, add the eggs and milk and then the meat. I always use gloved hands when working with meat. I simply hate the feel of raw meat and also feel like it's better sanitation as well. 

Prep two sheet trays by lining with heavy duty foil and spraying with...drum roll please...Bakers Joy ;) The trays wills still need to be washed afterward but as long as you don't rip the foil it will be a breeze. No scrubbing :) The bakers joy helps prevent ripping by making sure the meatballs don't stick to the foil.

Once your meat mixture is ready, form into mini meatballs about an inch to inch and a half in diameter. Place about 1/2 and inch apart on the trays. This is the most time consuming part of making this soup. My daughter and I work together and it flies by. For this batch (which is double the recipe listed) we made roughly 250 mini meatballs on four trays. 

Cook the meatballs in a 350 degree oven (I use the convection setting and highly recommend it if you have that option) until nicely browned and cooked through. This took about 15 minutes in my oven. be sure to check yours to make sure they are fully cooked. 

Let's just take a minute to talk about sanitizing. You will want to make sure you clean and sanitize all surfaces that come into contact with raw meat. Wiping with a soapy rag is great for particulate matter (be sure not to use the rag on anything else and put it straight into the wash), but raw meat can carry bacteria that will survive that. A bleach solution of 100 ppm should be used to either spray or wipe the surface and left to dry on its own. 1 tsp of bleach per gallon of water is the recommended ratio for a counter and equipment wiping solution. You will notice that I almost exclusively use stainless steel bowls and utensils. That is because I can easily heat sanitize them in the oven after washing thoroughly when I work with raw meat. OK, now that we have established that I am the captain of team OCD we can continue cooking :)  Safety first my lovelies.

While your meatballs are cooking, go ahead and cook and drain your pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Combine this and all the other soup ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. I kind of wish there were more to this to make me look like a genius but alas....it is as simple as it looks lol  

At this point you are just heating and waiting for your meatballs to be done. As soon as they are, scoop off trays (don't just dump the tray in. you don't want all that rendered grease) and add to the soup. Simmer and enjoy. 

This soup, like most, gets better with time. You can easily make it ahead by a night. My husband prefers his soups to not have a lot of liquid. You may like more. And if you make ahead it will be very thick the next day (barely any liquid left). We love that. Just wanted to mention it in case you are a lover of a lot of stock. If you want more broth just reduce the amount of pasta you use. 

Thanks for hanging out with me today as I sniffle :)  Stay warm friends and remember to follow by email or hit the follow google + button. Invite your friends to join us too :)

Who wants to make Naan???? :)

This post is not for the low carb crowd. I LOVE bread...all bread...period. I have yet to find a bread I DON'T like. I love the process of making bread. I love the smell that fills the house when baking bread. I love the warm loveliness that is freshly baked bread. Most of all I love what happens when you give someone freshly baked bread. There is something magical about bread wrapped in a clean, bright flour sack cloth and delivered to a friend while still aromatic. It seems to transfer its warmth to a persons soul and fill them with joy :)

We make bread regularly in our house, Naan being an exception. We enjoy it so much, we just have to limit how often we make it lol

I will admit I am a bit apprehensive sharing our Naan recipe and process. I have a very dear friend of Indian heritage and I fear this won't meet her standards. So to hedge my bets here I am going to put out this disclaimer. It has been many years since I have lived in an area with authentic ethnic restaurants and just as long since i've had good Indian cuisine (which makes me sad). Our Naan is a lovely buttery, garlicky fry bread with a wonderful texture (soft and a bit chewy). Our entire family adores it and I hope you will too :)

And we're off......

What's our first step, always??? VERY GOOD!! Mise en place!

Ingredients:

9 cups flour

2 1/2 tblsp yeast

2 tblsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 1 tblsp milk

3 cups warm water

10 cloves of garlic (6 in dough, 4 for butter)

3 eggs

As usual, I make large amounts. It is vital in a big family to make enough for more than one meal....or I would never be able to keep up with the cooking. Feel free to half any recipe I post if you are a smaller crew or just want enough for one meal (which you may regret ;) 

First get your warm water, add your sugar to it and sprinkle your yeast in the mixture. I don't always proof my yeast, but for naan,  always.

Let that sit until a lovely foam head develops.

If your eggs are fresh out of the fridge you will need to bring them to room temp so they don't slow down the first rise. Simply place them in a large measuring cup or bowl and cover in hot tap water. Within just a couple of minutes they will be ready :)

Time to mince the garlic.

The best way to peel garlic is to smash the bejeezers out of it with the blade of your knife. I lay the side of the blade flat on top of the garlic and hit it (VERY carefully and with the sharp edge facing away from me) with the bottom of my palm. It doesn't take much pressure at all. You just need to split that membrane and the skin comes right off, usually in one piece. 

You will want your garlic to be well minced (I went even smaller than pictured). I like to drizzle a smidge of olive oil on my garlic before I start. It keeps the garlic pieces closer together so its easier to chop up. You will chop all ten cloves...6 for the dough and 4 for the basting butter. 

Mix together all of your dry ingredients in a large bowl along with the garlic (try and sprinkle it so it doesn't just hang out in clumps in your dough) Once your eggs are warm and your yeast is foamy go ahead and add to the dry ingredients along with your beaten eggs. 

Mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes a shaggy dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and loverly :)

Put about 2 tblsp of olive oil in a bowl (I just use the bowl I mixed it in. The less dishes the better ;), turn the dough in the oil to coat, cover with a flour sack cloth or other towel and let rise until doubled.  My oven has a proofing setting and I LOVE it. If yours does as well that is perfect. If not just find a draft free warm spot to let your bowl hang out in. Temp and humidity determine how long this step will take so I don't really have a guesstimate for you. Sorry :(

While your dough is rising, melt 1 1/2 - 2 sticks of butter (you may need more or less than this depending on how heavy or light you brush). add the reserved 4 cloves of garlic to the melted butter and just leave on the stove on low. You just want it to stay melted and warm so it infuses with garlic flavor. Stir occasionally.

When your dough is risen and gorgeous you will need to punch it down to deflate it.

Prep your counter by laying out a 3 ft length of plastic wrap and spraying it with ....you guessed it....Bakers Joy ;)  You will also need a second piece to lay over top of your dough pieces to keep them from drying out while you are working, just as with tortillas.

Cut your dough into pieces that will give you a golf ball size ball of dough. You can use bigger pieces to make a bigger finished product. Children+smaller pieces :)  Place your little balls of dough on your plastic and cover.

Preheat your skillet(s). I use cast iron and love it for this application. Medium high heat is a good starting point. Adjust if you need to when you start.  Now roll out your dough into an oblong shape. I roll mine on a silpat. a lightly greased counter would work also. Roll THIN. You may think you are rolling too thin...you are not. You could see through them and it will still be ok. They will spring back the minute you put them in the pan. 

Brush the top with infused melted butter and place butter side down in your hot pan.  When the top begins to bubble and the bottom has lovely dark golden brown coloring, brush the top with more of the butter and flip. If the bottom is getting too brown before the top bubbles, turn your burner down. If it seems to be taking too long to brown (really should only take about a minute) then turn your heat up slightly. 

Cook until the same dark golden brown spots appear on the flipped side. Only the high points of the dough will brown, the rest will stay very very pale and that is perfect. 

Repeat with remaining dough balls and enjoy!! If you have leftover garlic butter, dipping is glorious ;)  We eat naan with pretty much anything.  See you back tomorrow for Belgian Waffles!!! Don't forget to hit the follow button on the top right hand side of the page :)

Have a blessed day!

Creamy dreamy mac and cheesy!!

DAY THREE!!!! At what point can we actually define it as “being on a roll”? One day at a time I suppose.

Who doesn't love rich and cheesy homemade baked mac and cheese? If you just raised your hand you may want to exit stage left because today, that is what's on the menu....I mean blog :) Few things are more comforting on a cold day (and it seems to be cold EVERYWHERE as of late) than a big scoop of steamy, creamy mac and cheese. The cheesier the better. Every single member of my family loves it, and that my friend is not easy to achieve in a gang this size. The reaction to seems to be universal.

Fair warning, this is NOT a low fat recipe. I am sure you could adjust it, but as written this is an indulgence and one I make only once every few months. It is so highly anticipated in my house that last night while prepping the sauce my daughter came in and said “I love your blog” lol This is definitely a treat, not an every week side dish. Let's get to it, shall we....

You will need - (don't forget Mise En Place my dearies)

2 ½ sticks butter

¾ cup flour

1 tblsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 cloves garlic minced (½ tsp garlic powder)

2 tblsp brown mustard

12 cups whole milk (only two pictured)

2 medium onions chopped

4 cups cheddar

2 cups mozzarella

1/3 cup grated parmesan 

1/3 cup Romano cheese 

two boxes elbow macaroni (or piccolini)

Let's take a minute to talk about ingredients. First up to bat, pasta. For this blog post I went with the pasta everyone would recognize, elbow macaroni. Honestly, it is not typically what I use. I prefer piccolini (or mini penne rigate). I think it's unbent tubular shape and ridges hold more cheesy goodness. If you are ok with breaking tradition I highly recommend that change. 

Next item of consideration, cheese. I like layers of flavor and therefore I like using multiple cheeses. My husband prefers mild cheddar cheese, and because I love him dearly, that is what I use. Medium or even sharp cheddar will add more tang. I'm all for saving money but store brand mozzarella is virtually tasteless. If you shop at a Sam's club, their Bakers and chefs cheese, made by Stella, is a much better option. No membership? Sargento is your best grocery store bet.  Parmesan and Romano...do yourself a favor, but it in wedges and shred it yourself. The flavor is so superior to the pre-grated cheese in a bottle that you will actually use less and that, in the long run, means it is more cost effective. 

Moving on....

Cook your pasta of choice to al dente, drain and set aside in a large bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to prevent sticking while you prepare the sauce. If you prefer a more saucy mac and cheese, reduce the amount of pasta by about half a box. As written this is a more dense final product.

In a large stainless steel pot on medium low heat melt your butter and add your onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Next add your flour. It should come together very quickly, thickening so that when you run your wooden spoon along the bottom of the pan it parts and leaves path. 

At this point you want to add your salt, pepper and mustard. Stir until combined and in goes your milk. Stir constantly until thick and bubbly. You must not stop stirring and walk away. Ask me how I know? Did anyone notice the wardrobe (pot) change? Yep...I walked away. I saw another bunny. It called me away from my vulnerable pot of goodness and my attention only returned when I smelled the panic inducing aroma of scorched milk :(  NO BUNNIES!...just keep stirring, just keep stirring...just keep stirring stirring stirring (Finding Nemo...Dory...love her :)

Remove from the heat and in goes the cheese. Reserve a little of each for sprinkling over the top once in your casserole dish(es). Now is the time to taste your sauce. I am a notorious undersalter.  You may like more salt than I do and this is when you should add it. Once the salt level is to your taste pour your fantastimagical sauce over your pasta and stir.

Spray your casserole dish(es) with Bakers Joy (Oh Bakers Joy, how I love thee). This will make your cleanup later so much easier, trust me. 

Fill your dishes, sprinkle with reserved cheeses, bake at 350 until bubbly and golden and ENJOY!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins :)

Two days in a row!! Could this be the beginning of a roll??? I certainly hope so :)  Yesterday I promised a post on Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and here it is. Disclaimer - they are addictive....make at your own risk....you may not be able to stop eating them...or you may have more willpower than me which is entirely possible ;)

After I had my third daughter I was the happy recipient of several meals brought to me by ladies from the church we were attending at the time. Not familiar with this tradition?? It is a fantastic blessing to the family of a physically exhausted, sleep deprived and preoccupied new mom. Even if church isn't your thing, start the practice among friends and family. Trust me, that new mom will be incredibly grateful for the break from her husband making pasta and scrambled eggs to fill the void during her postpartum blur O_o  ...Oops...oh look at the bunny (you may see me say this a lot. It's a reference to a t-shirt my kids and I saw that said "I don't have ADD it's just...Oh look at the bunny". So now every time I randomly go off on a tangent (sometimes mid sentence) my kids say "Mom, oh look at the bunny" ;) .....back on track Jen.

One of these lovely meals included a dessert of the most incredible quick bread I had ever tasted. My entire family devoured the moist and delicious pumpkin bread and quickly asked if I could make more. I called the woman who made it and she graciously shared her family recipe with me. Over the years I have tweaked it to our tastes because I can rarely leave a recipe alone lol. The result is glorious! I know right now it is the season of pumpkin EVERYTHING, but honestly I make this year round. My kids eyes light up every time I come home with a can of pureed pumpkin.....{insert screeching tire noise} ...yes a can. Ok people lets talk reality here. I LOVE to make absolutely everything from scratch. Truly I do. And in the past I have roasted, cleaned and pureed my own pumpkin. Honestly, there was little to no difference in taste and it was much more expensive than the canned pumpkin puree. That is a big consideration in a large family. Maybe if I grew my own pumpkins (which is nearly impossible to do here without pesticides we are unwilling to use in our home garden due to the plague that is squash bugs in VA) I would be more likely to make my own. In parenting and cooking you need to choose your battles. For me, this was not a battle worth fighting.

Where were we...right...make it all year long. Don't limit your enjoyment of these little beauties to fall. They are perfect any time. See that, I knew right where I was even after the bunny ;)

Here's what you will need:

29 ounce can pumpkin puree

6 eggs

¾ cup oil (canola or vegetable)

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup water

1 ½ cups brown sugar

3 cups white sugar

3 cups unbleached ap flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

2 ¼ tsp cinnammon

¾ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

1 1/2 cups mini semi sweet chocolate chips

As always I am baking for a large family (and love to give food to my neighbors) so as written this recipe makes a lot. For this blog post I made 4 dozen mini muffins and three loaves. You could make two if you want taller loaves. I tend to stretch it so they have a chance of surviving our family for just a little bit longer lol  Mini muffins cook quickly and they will disappear just as quickly. They are perfect for little kid hands :)

First get all of your ingredients gathered and measured out. Mise en place people...embrace it, practice it, love it. It makes baking or cooking much more enjoyable. 

You will combine your soft butter with both of your sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand held mixer. 

Beat these together until well incorporated. Because the butter isn't your only fat it won't be creamy at this point but you want it to look well combined like this.

Next add your oil and mix and then add your eggs and beat until light and fluffy.

Pumpkin and water are next. Mix slowly in pulses or that water will splash out of the bowl...not fun.

Time for the spices, add your cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and mix until well incorporated. Go ahead and add half your flour, all of your baking soda, salt and your chips and mix in pulses so you don't cover yourself, and everything in your kitchen, in a cloud ;) Typically you would toss chocolate chips in flour before adding so they don't sink in your bread or cake but I have found that adding them with the flour achieves the same goal. Once that is safely mixed (not throughly) add the remaining flour in the same way. Scrape your mixer bowl to make sure no ingredients are left clinging to the bowl and then mix until well combined. 

You now have a big bowl of beautimous batter....grab a spoon...ummm I mean prepare your pans ;)

Spray your pans with Baker's Joy....the end. One day Baker's Joy will let me be their spokesperson. I LOVE my Bakers Joy. I am never without my Baker's Joy. Don't touch my Baker's Joy.......(clears throat awkwardly) I meant you should go get some Baker's Joy ;)

For the mini muffins I used a cookie scoop and it was the perfect portion. For the loaves (or larger muffin tins) fill 2/3 of the way with batter. 

Bake at 350 until skewer inserted comes out with no crumbs (it may have some melted chocolate on it). The mini muffins took 18 minutes to be perfect in my oven. The loaves take much longer...approximately 50 minutes. If you notice your edges getting very brown before the center is done you can back the heat down to 325 to finish them.

Turn finished loaves or muffins onto a wire rack and in a perfect world you would let them cool. Our house is not a perfect world and these are amazing warm. My children typically descend like a swarm the minute the ovens open. If you are able to resist, these muffins and loaves also freeze beautifully and make wonderful gifts for friends and neighbors. 

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Have a blessed day and come back tomorrow for Real Baked Macaroni and Cheese :) !!!!!!!