Tag: parmesan cheese

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Your whole family will love this Italian wedding soup with delicious meatballs, healthy vegetables, and pasta, all cooked in a savory broth. 

I absolutely love a good soup, and when your entire family gives it two thumbs up (even the picky eater), you know you have a winner. With this soup, you have your complete dinner in one bowl; protein, pasta, and lots of vegetables! This means less time spent making dinner and fewer dirty dishes.

What is Italian Wedding Soup?

No, it is not a traditional soup served at weddings in Italy. The name wedding comes from the Italian phrase “minestra maritata,” which means ‘married soup.’  Why is it married? It’s the marriage of ingredients, and the resulting delicious flavor in the soup.

An authentic Italian Wedding soup will always have these two ingredients; green vegetables and meat. When it comes to vegetables, it is common to use lettuce, kale, spinach, or cabbage. Meat is usually represented by some type of meatballs or sausage.

What Type of Pasta is Best?

Any type of small pasta will work. The most common types of pasta used in Italian wedding soups are the smallest types; acini de pepe, pastina, or orzo pasta. They can be found amongst the other pasta in most grocery stores. 

How to Make this Recipe

Start with the meatballs. 

  • Combine all the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl (it’s easiest to use your hands to mix).

  • Form into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

  • Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Check that the meatballs are done with a kitchen thermometer. It should read at least 160°F.

  • Set the meatballs aside a prepare the soup.

Next, make the soup.

  • Add the chopped carrots, celery, and onions to a pan with a little oil. Cook until tender. This takes about 20 minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth, dried parsley, dried basil, ground pepper, and salt. Bring almost to a boil.
  • Add the pasta, cover, and turn down the heat to medium. Cook the pasta until tender, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the meatballs and spinach, and continue to cook the soup over medium-low heat. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the meatballs are heated through; about 5 minutes.
  • Ladle the soup into the bowls, garnish with parmesan cheese and serve.

Using Frozen Spinach

  • You may also use a 6-ounce package of frozen spinach.
  • Let it thaw, pat it dry, and add it at the end. Give it a few minutes to heat before serving.

Storage

  • Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze in an airtight container for 3-4 months.
  • When reheating the soup, the pasta will have soaked up some of the broth, and the soup will be thicker. If needed, you can add a little more broth to the soup before reheating it to thin the soup a bit.

Italian Wedding Soup

Your whole family will love this Italian wedding soup with delicious meatballs, healthy vegetables, and pasta, all cooked in a savory broth. 
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
 

Meatballs:

  • 1 pound ground turkey or pork
  • ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Soup:

  • 1-2 tablespoons oil
  • 1½ cups chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped sweet onion
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup acini de pepe, pastina or orzo pasta**
  • 6 ounces baby spinach
  • grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions
 

Meatballs:

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
  • Mix the turkey or pork, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, parsley, and salt together in a medium bowl. It is easiest to use your hands to mix the ingredients.
  • Shape mixture into meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Check for doneness with a thermometer, which should read at least 160°F. Set aside while you finish the soup.

Soup:

  • Add the oil to a large pot and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the chopped carrots, celery, and onions and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Pour in the chicken broth. Then add the parsley, basil, pepper, and salt. Heat until the soup is hot and steaming.
  • Turn the heat down to medium, add the pasta and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the pasta is done, about 10-12 minutes.
  • Add the meatballs and spinach and stir. Continue to cook the soup over medium-low heat until the spinach has wilted, about 5 minutes. Sample the soup and add more salt to taste, if needed.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls and top with grated parmesan cheese (optional).

Notes

**If you like a brothier soup, you can reduce the pasta to 1/2 cup. Note that as the soup sits, the pasta will absorb more broth, so you can add more broth to thin the soup as desired.
Using Frozen Spinach:
  • You may also use a 6-ounce package of frozen spinach.
  • Let it thaw, pat it dry, and add it at the end. Give it a few minutes to heat before serving.
Storage:
  • Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze in an airtight container for 3-4 months.
  • When reheating the soup, the pasta will have soaked up some of the broth, and the soup will be thicker. If needed, you can add a little more broth to the soup before reheating it to thin the soup a bit.
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HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Homemade spaghetti sauce doesn’t need to be complex or time-consuming to be delicious. You just need good, quality ingredients to make a sauce full of amazing flavor. This recipe is perfect for making large batches to feed a crowd or freezing for quick, easy meals later.

Spaghetti night is a favorite in our house. Everyone loves it and leaves the table satisfied and happy. It’s one of those meals that doesn’t need to be overly complex or time-consuming to be amazing!

For years, I thought homemade spaghetti sauce must be hard to make or at least hard to make really good. So I bought spaghetti sauce in a jar. It wasn’t bad; we enjoyed it. But I finally decided to develop my own recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce that was both easy and delicious. And here it is! I will never go back to spaghetti sauce in a jar again.

Best Tomatoes to Use:

The best spaghetti sauce is made using crushed San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano is a variety of plum tomatoes with a more robust flavor and are sweeter and less acidic. You can usually find canned San Marzano tomatoes at your grocery store. But there are times I can’t find this variety, so I have used other brands of crushed tomatoes or fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, and the sauce still turns out amazing. So whichever type or brand you use, be sure they are crushed tomatoes.

Adding Meat to the Sauce:

If you like to have meat in your spaghetti sauce, you certainly can add it. I love to use ground pork sausage in my sauce, or you can use ground beef. You can brown the meat with the onions (be sure to cook it thoroughly), draining off the extra fat, or cook the meat separately and add it to the sauce at the end.

We love meatballs with our spaghetti, and my Baked Sausage Meatballs complement this sauce perfectly. The meatballs are full of flavor and baked to perfection! And don’t forget the garlic bread with homemade Garlic Bread Spread!

Freezing Instructions:

It’s easy to freeze any leftovers to use later or make a larger batch with the intent to freeze for future use. Allow the sauce to cool completely, spoon the desired amount into sealable freezer bags, label, and lay flat in your freezer. Once frozen, they stack easily in your freezer.

Thawing and Reheating Instructions:

When you are ready to use the sauce, let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Then, reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through. 

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade spaghetti sauce doesn't need to be complex or time-consuming to be delicious. You just need good, quality ingredients to make a sauce full of amazing flavor. This recipe is perfect for making large batches to feed a crowd or freezing for quick, easy meals later.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 6 Cups

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced, (more or less based on preference)
  • 2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried sweet basil, (1½ tablespoons minced fresh basil)
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat in a large skillet or pot. Add the diced onions and saute for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the garlic and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, oregano, basil, and parmesan cheese (break up any clumps before adding). Stir well. Bring to a simmer.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low, but maintain a simmer. Simmer for at least an hour to give the sauce time to cook down and thicken.
  • Serve over spaghetti noodles. This spaghetti sauce pairs perfectly with my Baked Sausage Meatball recipe.

Notes

Adding Meat to the Sauce: If you like to have meat in your spaghetti sauce, you certainly can add it. You can use ground pork sausage or ground beef. Brown the meat with the onions (be sure to cook it thoroughly), draining off the extra fat, or cook the meat separately and add it to the sauce at the end.
Freezing Instructions: It’s easy to freeze any leftovers to use later or make a larger batch with the intent to freeze for future use. Allow the sauce to cool completely, spoon the desired amount into sealable freezer bags, label, and lay flat in your freezer. Once frozen, they stack easily in your freezer.
Thawing and Reheating: When you are ready to use the sauce. Let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Then reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through. 
 
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CHEESY LEMON ASPARAGUS

Roasted asparagus with parmesan cheese and lemon zest make for a great side dish to accompany any entrée. Super easy to make in just under 15 minutes!

I’ll admit I have not always liked asparagus. I don’t remember my mom serving it very often when I was a kid. And as a young adult, I avoided it. But I have discovered over the past ten years that I really like asparagus! So I make it quite often. My kids, however, are not fans…”Mom, do we have to eat it?” I just smile; I know that one day they will come around…I hope.

I like my asparagus to shine in my dishes, so they are usually simple dishes with not too many competing flavors. The way we typically eat asparagus is grilled and seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper. That’s it! And it’s so good.

For this recipe, the asparagus is enhanced with lemon zest and Parmesan cheese for a light flavor that still allows the asparagus to shine.

For this Recipe

I begin by washing and trimming the asparagus, cutting off the lower 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches. The lower part can be woody and difficult to chew.

Brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I then sprinkle the asparagus with shredded Parmesan cheese. Be sure you are not using grated; it’s too fine and won’t yield the same results. Bake the asparagus in the oven for 10 minutes.

When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle with the lemon zest, garnish with a lemon spiral (optional) and serve. That’s it! So simple and so good. Enjoy!

Cheesy Lemon Asparagus

Roasted asparagus with parmesan cheese and lemon zest make for a great side dish to accompany any entrée. Super easy to make in just under 15 minutes!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Side Dish

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound asparagus
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese (do not use grated)
  • zest of one lemon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Wash and cut 1 ½ to 2 inches off the bottom of the ½asparagus (see notes). Place on a baking pan.
  • Brush asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 10 minutes.
  • Plate the asparagus and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Notes

Cut 1 ½ to 2 inches off of the asparagus stalks. The lower half of the asparagus is tougher and more woody.
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