Monday, October 20, 2008

Comfort Food Dinner Date!

The chill of the October air has me in a never-ending mood for comfort food. I thought it best to build this association into little toddler brains.

Turkey Meatball Alphabet Soup
(serves about 6)

1 lb. ground turkey
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
3/4 c. breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or oregano/basil/etc.)
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cups chicken broth or stock
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 c. alphabet pasta (I found organic vegetable abc pasta at Whole Foods)

For the stock:
1. In a crock pot or large stock pot add the chicken broth, chopped shallot, garlic, bay leaf, celery, carrots and Italian seasoning. If you are using a crock pot set it to high and cover. If you are doing it on the stove, set the heat to med-high and cover.

For the meatballs:
1. In a medium mixing bowl combine the turkey, cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, minced shallots and Italian seasoning by hand.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.

3. Form 1" round meatballs and put in single layer in preheated skillet. Cook meatballs, turning occasionally until cooked through. Remove from heat and add to soup.
4. Let soup simmer until vegetables are tender. Mine cooked in the crock pot for about 2-1/2 hours.

4. In a separate sauce pan prepare the ABC pasta according to the package directions.
5. Ladle out portions of the soup and add pasta to bowls individually. (If you add it to the crock pot or stock pot while the soup is cooking the pasta will turn to mush.) Serve!

Grammy Cynde's Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
(serves 2)

This sandwich pays tribute to Neko's Grammy Cynde who was the first to introduce me to the magic that is grilled cheese on cinnamon raisin bread. If you've never had this combination it probably sounds pretty weird but if you have had it you know how delicious it really is!

2 slices of cinnamon raisin bread (I actually baked homemade bread in the bread machine but am not including the recipe because it wasn't the best recipe out there. Really any cinnamon raisin bread will do.)
1/4 c. shredded muenster cheese
1/2 tsp. butter

Put cheese between two slices of bread. Butter the outside slices. Fry in small skillet over med. heat until both sides are golden brown. Serve!

Both the soup and sandwich got "Yums!" and "Mmmms" from the girls so I would definitely call this meal a winner.


And for dessert:

Individual Peach Crisps
(serves 2)

1 c. frozen peaches
1/2 c. quick cook oats
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2. Tsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Divide the peaches evenly between two baking ramekins.
3. In a small bowl combine the oats, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Spoon mixture evenly between the two ramekins of peaches.
4. Bake on a cookie sheet in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
5. Top with whipped cream and serve! So fast, so easy, so delicious!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so going to make those grilled cheese with cinnamon bread sandwiches!! Looks so good!! My children love both of those things but I never thought to put them together! They are sooooo PICKY it's not even funny and I'm glad I found your site because I have already found some wonderful ideas!! Thanks! Happy Mother's Day!!

Celeste said...

Happy Mother's Day to you Holly! I'm glad you are finding recipes to try. I definitely reccomend the raisin bread grilled cheese. So yummy!