Simple Fare, Fairly Simple

A long time ago...when #1 son was little, a bunch of us young moms got together with our kids and did a home preschool. We had lots of fun...the kids had a blast and best of all....it was free! I think there were 5 or 6 moms involved. Over the years some of us lost touch with one another. I know that was the case for me and a couple of the girls. Fast-forward to today. One day, a year or two ago...I got an email from one of the moms (Hi Donna!) who used to be in the preschool group. She and her husband were moving to the area and she was asking me questions about it. We had a few conversations about the area. Then about that time....Words With Friends became all the rage. And that's where we are now. Donna and I keep 4 games going with each other all the time...and yes..she wins most games. But it's fun. I say ALL of that so I can say that this recipe comes from Donna. I only have one question for her. Why did you wait so long to share it???

Albondigas (Meatball) Soup



Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
3 T. onion minced
2 T. bread crumbs
1 egg slightly beaten
1 t. salt
1/8 t. cumin powder
1/4 t. ground pepper
1/2 t. oregano or Italian seasoning
2 T. raw rice
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce - divided use (I used El Pato Mexican Tomato Sauce for extra zing)

Mix all ingredients, except use only 1 - 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce. Reserve the rest for the broth.

Form small meatballs. Set aside.


Caldo (Broth) 

1/2 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 c. bell pepper chopped
1 T. oil
6 cups beef broth
Remainder of tomato sauce
2 - 3 cups chopped veggies (carrots, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, corn)


Saute onion and bell pepper, add garlic and stir.  Add beef broth and the remainder of the tomato sauce.

Bring to roiling boil. Add uncooked meatballs one at a time so boiling doesn't stop.

Add diced vegetables.

Add 1/4 cup uncooked rice, if desired.

Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Tastes better if prepared a day in advance.  Freezes well.

 6-8 servings.

Here's what you need. I'm showing a product here called "Better Than Bullion". I used it instead of canned broth. It's in the soup aisle and comes in beef or chicken flavors. Worked great. Just use one teaspoon of this to one cup of water. I also am using El Pato Mexican Tomato Sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. It gives a little extra kick and we love it.

Mix all the stuff for the meatballs then form them about the size of a walnut. I used my smallest cookie scoop so they would all be the same size.

Sauce the bell pepper and onion then add the garlic.

Add the broth and remaining tomato sauce to the pot.

Then add the meatballs, one at a time...and the rice if you're using that. I found that I really liked the added rice. Add the chopped veggies here, too.

Yum! IT Guy was a HUGE fan of this...we all really liked it! Thanks, Donna!!