The end of winter is finally near and I've never been happier. While I've spent my fair share of years north of the Mason Dixon (including my birth if we're being honest), my heart sings happy tunes in warmer weather. That's not so say you won't hear me complain when we consistently top over 100 degrees this summer. Let's just say I don't like extremes - clearly, I need to live in Hawaii. At any rate, a couple of weekends ago our temps dropped rather low again and I couldn't resist another go-round with a steaming pot of soup. We actually eat soup year round, but with exceptional frequency in the colder months. You can find additional soup recipes here, here, here, and here.
For this meatball-veggie-pot-o'-crazy, I started with lots of good things....In the bottom of a heavy pot place:
4 TBS butter
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 jalapeno's seeded and chopped
4 medium sized potatoes, cubed
Saute and stir often until onions are transparent and veggies begin to wilt.
In the meantime, assemble your mini meatballs. In a mixing bowl combine:
1 lb. lean ground beef
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. peper
Dash of Worcestershire
Mix well with your hands and roll into quarter-size meatballs.
Place meatballs on sheet pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until no loner pink in the center.
As soon as your root veggies begin to soften add to your pot:
2 cartons of beef broth (approximately 28-32 oz. each)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen green beans
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Bring to a simmer and gently stir in your meatballs.
Top with fresh grated parmesan and parsley. Enjoy and stay warm - summer is almost here!!
xox,
A
