Here is a variation on Italian Wedding Soup.

1 lb chicken breasts

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 tsp minced garlic (I used frozen cubes)

2 Tbs dried parsley (use fresh if you have it, I did not)

2 eggs, beaten

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Mince the chicken breasts in a food processor. In a large bowl combine the chicken, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Drop by teaspoonful onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.

Meanwhile make the soup:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, minced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 quarts chicken stock

1/3 cup white wine

1 cup small pasta

Heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and saute until soft. Add the stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 6-8 minutes until tender. Add the meatballs and heat through. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary. Serve hot.

A friend of mine requested a recipe for veggie “meat”balls for her daughter who has become a vegetarian. They keep kosher and most of the veggie balls on the market are dairy and she wanted something she could serve alongside a meat meal so it needed to be pareve. So here is what I came up with- I was delighted when I bit into one and they tasted sooooo good. I cannot wait to serve them for dinner as I am sure my kids will love them too. They should go with any sauce you want, marinara, brown gravy, sweet and sour, etc. I am hoping they freeze well too and I will make a double batch next time.

Veggie “Meat”balls

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs ketchup

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Better Than Bullion paste (or use a bullion cube)

1/2 tsp freshly groud pepper

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup TVP crumbles (I bought some at Whole Foods, Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1/2 onion

1 carrot

1 Tbs olive oil

10 oz. mushrooms

sprinkle of salt

1 egg, beaten (or egg substitue)

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

pan spray

In a large mixing bowl combine Soy sauce through pepper then add boiling water and mix well. Add TVP and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile put the onion and carrot in a food processor and mince until very fine. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add the onion/carrot mixture. Mince the mushrooms until very fine then add to the pan with the onion and carrot. Saute until most of the juices have evaporated, sprinkle with a bit of salt and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Add the beaten egg to the TVP mixture along with the cooked veggies. Stir well then add the bread crumbs and stir again. For into small balls and place on a sheet pan sprayed with pan spray (I also used a piece of parchment paper for easy cleanup). Spray the tops of the balls with more pan spray. Bake for 15 minutes or until the outer edges of the balls are crisp.

Serve with warmed sauce of your choice (don’t reheat too long in the sauce or they might fall apart, best to reheat in oven then top with hot sauce). We are going to use brown gravy and egg noodles tonight, next I’ll try sweet and sour over rice. Yum!

My son just had several teeth pulled so I need to make soft foods for dinner. Nothing better than soup when you are not feeling up to par. This one came together with what was available. Any vegetables will do, improvise with what is in the refigerator!

Vegetable Chowder

1 Tbs olive oil

1 small onion

1 leek

3 stalks celery

1 yellow pepper

1 small head broccoli

3/4 cup corn kernels (frozen is ok)

2 yukon gold potatoes

5 cups veggie broth

salt and pepper

1 Tbs butter (or margarine)

1 Tbs flour

optional: 1/2 cup milk or half and half

Chop all veggies into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a soup pot. Add onions and leeks followed by celery. Stir and season with some salt (about 1/2 a tsp is a good start). Add peppers and potatoes. Add broth and bring to boil. Add broccoli and a few ginds of pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.

Melt butter in a small dish and add flour until a smooth paste. Add to soup and stir well. Continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Add the corn, followed by milk if using. Taste for seasons. Serve hot.

Beans are so delicious with rice, no wonder they make such a good protien pair! Here is a simple, easy and quick dinner.

Bean Burritos

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 gloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 can black beans, rinsed well

1 cup cooked brown rice

3/4 cup corn kernels (ok to use frozen)

1 yellow or red pepper, diced

1 tsp cumin

1-2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

fresh cilantro (or use a frozen cube, I used one cube which is about 1 Tbs fresh)

flour tortillas

grated cheese (mild cheddar or montery jack) optional

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a saute pan, heat olive oil. When hot add onion and garlic. Stir and cook for 2 minutes then add peppers and beans, followed by rice and corn. Season with cumin, chili powder, a few grinds of pepper and a dash of salt. Saute for a few minutes then remove from heat and add cilantro.

Place about 1/2 cup of mixtureon onto each tortilla and top with a small ammount of cheese. Fold edges in and place on a baking sheet. Top with a bit of cheese. Repeat until you have made enough burritos for the meal (the filling will save nicely in the fridge). Bake for 5-10 minutes or until hot.

While thinking over possibilites for dinner I asked my eldest what to make. He said “Something with Cauliflower”. Cool I just happened to have a head in the fridge so we decided on Cauliflower and Cheese soup with Popovers!

Cauliflower and Cheese Soup

(adapted from Moosewood Cookbook)

1 large potato (of a few little ones), peeled and diced

1 large cauliflower, cut up

1 med carrot, peeled and chopped

3 cloved garlic, peeled

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups water

2 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

black pepper

Put potato, cauliflower, carrot, onion, garlic and salt into a soup pot and add water. bring to a boil and simmer until the veggies are quite tender, about 30 minutes. If you like a slightly chunky soup you can puree it with an immersion blender. For this soup I prefer it very smooth, so I let it cool then pureed it in batched in my blender. (either way is delicious!)

Bring puree back to a simmer and add pepper, milk and cheese. Do not let it boil, serve hot.

The kids all loved this one, it is smooth and has a creamy mouth feel even though there is not much dairy. My eldest had seconds and even my three year old ate his whole bowl! Yum!

Here is another soup to celebrate Soup Week! This started as a clean out the veggie drawer soup and sort of evolved on its own. It will keep well in the freezer so I can pull it out when we are harried and need dinner right away.

Minestrone/Tuscan Bean Soup

2 Tbs olive oil

1 leek, havled then sliced into rings

1 onions, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

5 cups broth or bullion

1 can white beans (I used canellini)

1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup cooked small pasta, such as dilatini

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the leek and onion and stir. Saute until begining to get limp then add carrot and celery. reduce heat to med and saute until very limp. Add the broth/bullion followed by the beans and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, add bay leaf, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Just before serving add the cooked pasta. Taste and correct for seasonings if needed.

As it is Soup Week over at Fine Cooking I have been making several batches of soup. It is a great way to stock the freezer for busy nights! This soup is inspired by a dish my mother used to make when I was a kid, it is an easy one to put together, even on a busy night- just pick up a rotisserie chicken on your way home and 30 minutes later you’ll have soup! To make it vegetarian or vegan you could subsititute chick peas or tofu for the chicken.

Chicken Curry Soup

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 granny smith apple, peeled and finely diced

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs curry powder (or more to taste)

salt and pepper

4 cups broth (I use homemade chicken broth from the freezer, but veggie broth or bullion will work well too.)

1 rotisserie chicken cut up (or substitute chick peas or tofu)

1 cup cooked rice (on a busy night microwave a package of Thai rice from Trader Joe’s)

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add onion and celery. When starting to get limp add the apple and stir. Let saute for a few minutes then add the curry powder. Stir well then add the broth followed by the chicken. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, then add rice. Serve hot.

Many kids are turned off by fish, but done well it can be a real hit. I find the easiest fishes to get kids to try are the mild white flaky ones. This week Talapia was on sale so this is what I made for dinner.

Simple Lemon Garlic Talapia

5-6 fillets of Talapia, rinsed

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup very fine bread crumbs (I used Osem Golden Crumbs)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

a few grinds of pepper

olive oil

1 Tbs butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs lemon juice

minced parsley (optional, if your kids don’t like the green, leave it out)

Mix the flour, bread crumb and spices on a plate. Dredge the fish so that all sides are lightly coated. In a large frying pan heat some olive oil. Fry until golden brown then remove to a platter (I fried my fish in two batches).

Wipe out pan then add the butter and garlic. Stir for about 1 minutes then add lemon juice and pour over fish on the platter. Top with parsley.

I made a great dish from I blog that I follow called Mostly Foodstuffs. The author is a friend of my sister’s and she writes for The Oregonian. The dish I made for dinner was so easy (even though I did not have a steamer, I rigged up a contraption in my wok and it was perfect) and my kids loved the Asian flavors. In fact my middle son said “Thanks Mom for sparking my taste buds!”. I used Talapia and served it with steamed rice and broccoli. For the kids I steamed so baby corn, which is devoured so fast you would not believe it! The recipe is on the Oregonian here.

This is so comforting in the winter. And so inexpensive too!

Cream of Celery Soup

(adapted from Moosewood Cookbook)

1 large bunch celery

1 med onion, finely chopped

4 cups water

1 medium potato, chopped into small chunks

3 Tbs butter

1 cup milk

1/4 cup cream

salt and white pepper

Chop the outer stems of celery in large chunks to make 4 cups. In a large soup pot heat the water, potato and celery with 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15+ minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth.

Meanwhile finely chop the remaining stems of celery. In a skillet heat the butter and saute the finely chopped celery and onions. Add to the soup pot. Heat for 10-15 minutes or until the celery is very tender. Add the milk and cream then some white pepper. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if desired. Serve warm.

My kids loved this soup and were surprised that celery could taste so good!