A Favorite Recipe of mine--and a family pleaser

Made this meatball soup from the Williams Sonoma Soup Cookbook.
Albondigas with Beef-and Tortilla Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef
4 eggs
1/2 small red onion finely chopped (for meat balls)
3/4 cup crushed tortilla chips
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Soup:
7 cups meat or chicken stock
1 can (1 lb) tomatoes with their juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp red pepper flake
2 carrots corsely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped (for soup)
1 bay leaf

In a mixing bowl, stir together the beef ( you can use turkey or ground pork instead) eggs, onion, tortilla chips, cilantro, oregano, salt, cumin, and pepper. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Put the stock in a large sauce pan. Add the tomatoes, crushing them slightly with a wooden spoon, along with the sugar, red pepper flakes, carrots, celery, onion and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Moistening your hands with cold water, form the beef mixture into balls 1-1 1/2 inch in diameter and slip them carefully into the simmering stock. Cover and simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through and the vegetables are tender about 20 minutes.

Discard the bay leaf. Taste the stock and adjust seasoning.

Notes: I used some corn chips I had for the tortilla chips and used a 1 lb can of chopped tomatoes. This was a great soup especially on a cold night. I didn't take any pictures so you'll have to make it yourself.

Melanie's Butternut Squash Soup

I couldn't remember if I had ever eaten butternut squash soup, and since Lisa loved it I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't roast it the way Alton says to because I already had some leftover puree from another recipe I had made. Because I already had the puree, this was super fast and easy to make! The honey and nutmeg give it the perfect flavor. Butternut squash isn't my favorite soup so I don't think I'll make it very often, but, this was a perfect autumn meal.

I have really enjoyed making meals with winter squashes. Since I had never made or had spaghetti squash before, I went ahead and made some (just using a recipe from allrecipes.com). It was good, but I think I undercooked the squash. I'll have to try again!

Whitney's Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Just wanted to give a shout out to Jess and say thanks for the yummy soup recipe. I didn't take a picture, but it was a great hearty meal and I did like it with the Italian Sausage. I made the whole batch and then froze half of it for later. p.s. Great suggestion to add the pasta to it as you eat, because you're right that it would make the leftovers less desirable (been there, done that).

Melanie W.'s Pasta E Fagioli Soup

This makes a ton of soup, and I'm glad because it is so good and with leftovers I get to enjoy it even longer! I loved the flavor of it. My little boy loved it and I was happy he willingly gobbled up beans and vegetables. I made mine with the Italian sausage, and this is definitely the way to go. With ground beef it would be a totally different soup. I also added more V-8 juice and could have even added more because I thought mine was a bit on the thick side. I didn't have all the seasonings so I just used Italian style diced tomatoes, and the soup had plenty of flavor. Thanks Jessica for a yummy recipe!

Melanie W.'s Split Pea Soup

To be honest, I wasn't in love with this recipe. At least, I wasn't in love with the way mine turned out. Josh liked it a lot though. First of all, I couldn't find smoked port hock, so like Cami, I also used regular raw pork. I'm not even sure it was a hock, but I'm pretty sure it was a similar cut. I also chose not to add any ham. Anyway, the flavor from the pork and the pork bone ruined it for me. I'm not sure why because I usually like meat, but I'm thinking it might have tasted better with the smoked pork? Not really sure. I think I would have preferred to just use ham instead, or skip the meat altogether.

What I did like is the variety of veggies in the soup! It seemed very healthy. I did add potatoes and also added more peas as was recommended, but I wish I had added even more. It definitely didn't end up as thick as I was envisioning. I even poured off some water before pureeing and it still seemed too thin. I was happy to find marjoram here (though no bay leaves). I think it was my first time using marjoram and I liked the smell of it.

I'll keep this in my list of recipes, and next time I'll make a few modifications and then I'm sure I'll be happy with it!

Cami's Split Pea Soup

This is a terrible picture of a delicious soup! I really liked the rich flavor of the soup. I did a few things wrong differently. I couldn't find smoked ham hock so I got regular or non-smoked I guess. I don't know enough about ham hock to know the difference. I also couldn't find green split peas at Treasure Island and since I didn't want to go to another store I bought yellow. It seems like it still turned out. Jason doesn't usually like split pea soup but he liked this. I did add the potatoes and extra ham. I didn't get the meat out of the ham hock. I just removed it once the soup was done. I still think it tastes great and will make it again. Heck, maybe I'll try it the right way!

This Week's Recipe: Easy Split Pea Soup

I used to hate split pea soup. Literally, my mom had to coax me into eating it every time she served it. I'd pinch my nose and swallow hoping that my two bites would be enough to make it go away.

Somewhere along the line my tastes changed.

It could possibly be from this recipe alone. Really, it's quite tasty! I've made this soup countless times and it's never failed me. My family loves it on a chilly day. Serve it up with a crusty bread (I often cheat and buy the 2-loaf pack of whole wheat baguettes from Costco) and some slices of cheddar cheese. I know it's springtime now, but try it out before it starts defrosting too much.

Easy Split Pea Soup
Bon Appétit | May 1996
by Patricia Murray: County Kerry, Ireland

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1 1/2 pounds smoked pork hocks
2 teaspoons dried leaf marjoram
1 bay leaf*
1 1/2 cups green split peas
8 cups water
1 potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes*
1/2 cup of cooked, cubed ham chunks*

Instructions:
Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Cut pork off bones. Dice pork; return pork to soup. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover. Rewarm before serving.)

Cook's Notes:
~I added the asterisked ingredients (I like potato and extra ham-- just add after pureeing)
~Needs longer than 1 hour 10 minutes-- probably about 2 hours
~Can be made in a crock pot (just add the potatoes and extra ham the last hour of cooking, after the soup has been pureed)
~I like to add more peas to make it a thicker consistency
~If you have an immersion hand blender, I highly recommend using it! A regular blender works alright, but the hand kind is MUCH easier.

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Cami's questions:

Q: When did you start baking / cooking?
A: I can remember helping my mom in the kitchen from the time I was about 8. I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving that year and have been making it for my family every year since. My mom also let me help her make tortillas. I loved eating the dough!

Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: Heat-resistant spatulas

Q: Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
A: Garlic and maybe black pepper, too

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: A tough one! I love so many. Maybe "The Hiding Place," or "A Prayer for Owen Meany," or "Harry Potter" ...

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: The Greek Islands

Q: If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
A: I've always thought the name Ophelia was cool...

Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Goleta (Santa Barbara), CA

Q: Where are you from?
A: Van Nuys (The San Fernando Valley), CA

Q: If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Strawberries