Veggie Meatball Soup

Veggie Meatball Soup

I just found out that January is considered the official soup month. Had I known, I could have posted about 5 other soup recipes I made already this month. Here's a recipe my daughter sent to me and it is excellent!!!

Ingredients:

25 frozen, cooked Italian meatballs (1/2 ounces each) - I made mine fresh, recipe below*

1 can (28 oz) dices tomatoes, undrained

3 cups beef broth

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 cup fresh geen beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup water

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup uncooked pasta (your favorite small soup pasta. I used Farfalle.)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the first 14 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours or until vegetables are almost tender.

Stir in the pasta and parsley; cook 30 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (2 1/2 quarts).

*To make fresh meatballs, I mixed 12 1/2 oz of ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Roll into 25 mini meatballs. Brown in frying pan for 15 minutes.

Chicken, Pasta Primavera

Chicken Pasta Primavera

This is my own throw together recipe using whatever I have on hand. Feel free to modify according to your preferences and what you have available.

Ingredients:

Canola oil

Carrots

Onions

Celery

Garlic

Broccoli

Red and/or green peppers

Zucchini

Chicken breast, crooked and cubed ***

Pasta, cooked and set aside

Salt Pepper

Oregano

Soy sauce

Directions:

Cut up all veggies into bite sized pieces.

In preheated large skillet or wok, add a small amount of canola oil, carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Cook for about 3-5 minutes.

Add broccoli. Cook another few minutes.

Add peppers and zucchini. Stir fry until veggies are crisp tender.

Finally, add chicken, pasta, salt, pepper and oregano. Heat through and serve with soy sauce.

***Easy make ahead Chicken recipe can be found here.

The Start of a Healthy New Year!

After indulging for what seems like the entire year, I have decided that I'm going to be more aware of my meals and planning in 2015. Even though we do tend to eat fairly healthy, there is always room for improvement.

Throughout the year, I plan to post healthy recipes that you might like to try. I thought I'd start with a meatless meal that is veggie heavy and will leave you feeling full and satisfied. Perfect for the waistline too :-)

Baked Ziti and Veggies

Ingredients

4 oz. uncooked ziti (I used Rice Shells as shown in the photo)

1 TBS olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow squash

1 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped tomato

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

2 TBS chopped fresh basil

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 cup part-skim ricottta cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an 8-inch baking dish, spray with cooking spray.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini and onion; saute 5 minutes.

Add tomato and garlic; saute 3 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 tsp salt and crushed red pepper.

Combine ricotta, remaining salt and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Serves 4. (Serving size: approx. 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information:

Calories 301

Fat 312.1 g

Sat Fat 5.3 g

Monofat 5 g

Polyfat 0.9 g

Protein 16.5 g

Carbohydrate 32.8 g (if using regular pasta)

Fiber 4.1 g

Cholesterol 65 mg

Iron 1.9 mg

Sodium 640 mg

Calcium 291 mg

(Recipe and nutrititional information taken from www.cookinglight.com)