I am brainstorming new ideas for dinner! I am tired of the same old same old: Tacos, enchiladas, spaghetti, chicken:baked,fried,stir-fried, hamburgers,tater-tot casserole (so good!) ect, ect... Working out of the home during the day makes dinner preparation hard so usually the above is what is served and I have my 17 year old start preparing it while I am on my way home from work.
He just recently has shown a huge interest in cooking more "difficult" or challenging things. So, I am going to have him help me think of new and exciting things for dinner. I plan on sharing them here too, so please be kind if they arent the best. ;)
Tonight for dinner:
Albondigas soup. Never heard of it? Well, I havent made it in a lonnnng time but I found a recipe that is pretty similar to how I make it here at ALLRECIPES. I just love that site!
INGREDIENTS are as follows and you can add as much as you would like according to your family size:
- water in a big pot
- carrots chopped in fat quarters skins left on
- potatoes with the peels left on, cut in half
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tomato chopped
- beef bouillon cubes
- ground beef
- cabbage
- frozen corn
- chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh garlic clove(s) depending on how much garlic you LOVE
Basically this is pretty easy and it tastes so good if you arent scared to spice it up. This is soup, so make sure its not bland and has enough salt. I hate sipping bland soup. Bleh!
Season your ground beef with your favorite spices. I add a little bit of cumin,salt,pepper,garlic,onion powder. I dont do the bread crumbs ect, I dont think it tastes good. I like the meat balls more meaty. I also skip adding the milk to them. Make tablespoon scoop sized meatballs or heck, any size you want. Bring the soup pot with the water to a rolling boil and add the meatballs. Along with the meatballs add the carrots. Lower the heat and cook for about 45 minutes. Add the potatoes and all the other ingredients EXCEPT the cabbage. Cut the entire cabbage head up into huge quarter pieces and dont take them apart. When the potatoes are almost done push the big cabbage pieces into the water and cook until soft. I like to turn off the soup and let it sit and get happy in its surroundings for about 30-40 minutes before I serve it up, then that way all the spices get to know each other and it will taste like one huge happy party in your mouth.
Along with this soup feast I make spanish rice and heat up corn tortillas on the open flame on my gas range until they are all nice and crispy for dipping into the soup. Rob also makes a killer pico-de-gallo for on top which is super simple, jalapenos, tomato, cilantro, onion and salt.
Dinner at casa Heather complete. ;)
