Italian Wedding Soup

As the weather is cooling down, I always want to spend my weekends cooking!  Today I made Italian Wedding Soup, but the easy way!  Italian wedding soup has meatballs, pasta, and spinach.  How great is that! 

You'll need:

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion diced

2 tbs of minced garlic

1 shallot minced

1 tsp of Italian seasoning

1 small to medium bag of frozen Italian style meatballs

1/2 lb of orzo

64 oz of beef broth (maybe a bit more if you go heavy on the meatballs or orzo, so you may want to grab three boxes at the store)

6 oz of fresh baby spinach

Directions:

In a large pot, drizzle about a tbs of extra virgin olive oil then saute the onions, garlic, shallot, and herbs over medium to high heat for about five minutes.  Add the meatballs and let them defrost slightly.  Stir frequently, you don't want them to burn.  Add the broth and bring it to a boil.  Once it's boiling, add the orzo, cover, and cook for about 8-9 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add the spinach.  Gently fold in the spinach until it's wilted.  Serve with a sprinkle or more :) of Parmesan cheese and crusty bread!  Enjoy!

Spicy Sausage Fettuccine

Spice up any date night with this hot meal at home!!!

1 lb of Fettuccine, cook according to the package directions

1 tomato diced

1 yellow onion sliced finely

1 shallot minced

2 tbs of garlic minced

1 sweet bell pepper cut into strips

3 Italian sausages removed form the casings

1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes--- just to spice things up!

1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning

1 big hand full of fresh basil

2 tbs of olive oil

1. Cook Fettuccine

2. Drizzle Olive Oil in the bottom of a large pan

3. Over a medium heat, cook Sausage, onions, shallots, garlic, peppers, red pepper flakes, Italian herbs, and a dash of salt and pepper.

4. When the sausage is cooked through, add the tomatoes and basil, saute for a few more minutes

5. Toss the fettuccine with the spicy sausage and veggies!

(I used a vegetable fettuccine from Ronzoni called Garden Delights!!  It was very good and healthier than plain pasta!)

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Fall is here and it's time to get inspired!  Is there anything better than the smell of pumpkin and cinnamon wafting from the oven.  It will fill the whole house goodness, and inspire you to break out the sweaters and scarfs! 

Ingredients:

• 3c of sugar
• 1c cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/3 c of all purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 2/3 c water
• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease muffin pan or insert muffin cups
3. In mixer or with a hand mixer, beat sugar and oil together, then add eggs and beat again on low until it is well blended and then set aside
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and nuts
5. Alternate adding dry ingredients and water into sugar/oil/egg mixture
6. Pour into mixture into the muffin tins
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, but poke a muffin with a tooth pick and if it comes out clean then the muffins are done.

Greek Pasta Salad

This is soooo good!  I made this for my sister's bridal shower and everyone was asking for the recipe, so here it is guys!  I hope you enjoy it!

• 1/2 lb of cheese tortellini
• 2 plum tomatoes-diced
• 1 14 oz can of chick peas-drained
• 6 oz of fresh asparagus diced into bite size pieces
• 1 tbls of capers
• 2 tbls of diced kalamata olives
• 1/4 of a red onion finely diced
• 1-2 gloves of minced garlic
• about 2 tbls of olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Cook the tortellini according to the instruction on the package, drain, and allow 10 minutes or so to cool before mixing the salad together.
2. Lightly stem the asparagus in a pan, just a few minutes, you want it to stay crispy. 
3. Remove the asparagus and place it into ice water to stop the cooking and retain the bright green color.
4. Drain asparagus and dry it with a clean dish towel.
5. Then just mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and put it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.
6. The olive oil, salt and pepper is the dressing.  The garlic and onions will add to that incredible flavor as the salad marinates.
7. ENJOY!

Easy Breezy Weeknight dinner- Beef, Barley, and Vegetable Soup

Ok, so we are all busy during the week, but that doesn't mean that we can't have a warm and comforting meal with only 20 minutes or less prep time.  Not only that, it's finally starting to cool down outside, what could be better than a harty bowl of beef, barley, and vegetable soup!

• 3.5 lb of stewing beef
• drizzle of olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp of Herbs de Provence (or whatever dried herbs that you like... italian seasoning would work just fine if that's what you have on hand)
• 1- 14.5 oz can of tomatoes-undrained
• 48 oz of beef broth
• 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup of pearl barley-rinsed
• Salt and pepper

1. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large pot
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper then brown it in the olive oil
3. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, and herbs... allow the flavors to mingle about 5-10 minutes
4. Add tomatoes, vegetables, barley, and broth 
5. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour
6. Taste- season with salt and pepper
7. ENJOY!