Foodie Friday - Albondigas

Recipe of the week - Albondigas!

This week we were feeling a little under the weather.  So I searched for recipes for homemade soups.  What's more comforting than a big bowl of warm soup when you're feeling less than stellar?  Of course, the go-to recipe is always chicken noodle.  But we weren't feeling that for Foodie Friday!  We needed something different.  Still brothy with tons of veggies.  But still something new.  I found several recipes for albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup).  And this week I decided, rather than follow a specific recipe, I was going to make it my own!  So instead of linking the recipe here, I'll type out what I used. For spices, I don't measure, so really you just eyeball it.  Just a dash here and a pinch there.  You be the judge. The great thing about this recipe is that you can tailor it to your own tastes.  You can use any vegetables you prefer, change up the spices to your liking, and measure out the amount you need rather than following exact measurements that may be too much or too little.  So here we go!

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound Ground Beef

1 Egg

1 spoonful (like the spoon you use to eat your soup!) Minced Garlic

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

Little parsley if you like.

Olive Oil to cook in

Soup:

1 small can Tomato Sauce

1 container Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 large Potato

2 large Carrots

5 stalks Celery

1 Yellow Onion

Olive Oil

Butter (optional)

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

Dash of Paprika

Dash of Garlic Powder

Dash of Cumin

3 cups Water (give or take depending on size of crock pot)

Step 1:

In my blurry headedness, I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, and the steps to make the meatballs.  But my daughter reminded me, and took this brilliant photo below of the meatballs once we had them cooked.  To make them:

In a bowl, combine all ingredients (except the olive oil) and mix well.  You want to make sure the seasoning is evenly dispersed, so don't be afraid to get your hands in there and really mix it up.  Then with the help of a spoon (big or small is completely up to you) form meatballs that are close in size.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  I made the mistake of making them as I put them into the pan, and I don't recommend it.  It would be easier to form the balls first and then start cooking.  

Heat some olive oil in a pan.  Then place the meatballs into it.  You may be tempted to turn them as soon as the ground beef begins to brown.  DON'T!  Wait a few extra minutes until the bottom gets that nice dark browning.  Otherwise, they tend to fall apart when you go to turn them.  You can see the dark brown in the photo.  It might feel like you're burning them.  You aren't.  As I had to assure my little girl several times.  LOL!

Once all the meatballs are done, you can place them in the crock pot.  Or, you can do what I did.  Place them into the pan you plan on cooking the veggies in.  It's a good way to take out smaller meatballs that are done while you wait for the larger ones to finish.  It also leaves some of the drippings and seasoning in the pan for the veggies later.  

Step 2:

This was a step I should have probably done first.  A prep step.  It would've made things go faster for sure.  Peeling and chopping all the veggies. This is totally a preference step.  You can peel and chop however you like.  For us, I peeled the potato and the carrots.  Then chopped them into what I consider bite size pieces.  I didn't worry about making them even.  My fiance peeled the onion because I was having an issue getting the outside skin off.  Then I chopped that all willy nilly.  I honestly didn't pay much attention to the size of those pieces at all, figuring they would all go soft in the soup anyway.  The celery we just chopped off the top, then chopped down the stalk until we felt we had enough.  We even left the leafy bits from the middle in.  Prep your veggies to your family's preference.  

Step 3:

Heat some olive oil and just a smidge of butter (if you're so inclined) in a frying pan. Toss in the veggies, and add a dash of salt and pepper to taste.  Give it a quick stir to mix them up.  I also drizzled a bit of olive oil on top of the veggies for good measure.  Let them sit for a minute or two, stir again, then cover and let them cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.  Just enough to soften them a smidge.  Once you're satisfied with them (I typically judge by the color and the aroma) they are ready to go in the crock pot.  

Step 4:

This is a good thing to do while the veggies are cooking.  Add your tomato sauce to the meatballs in the crock pot.  Then add your spices.  I used Paprika, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Cumin.  No salt in this step.  I made the mistake of adding the chicken broth next and the veggies after, which made for a lot of splashing.  So after adding the tomato sauce, I would recommend doing the opposite. Veggies first, then the chicken broth.

Step 5:

Again, I made the mistake of adding the chicken broth first, and then the veggies.  Should have done it the other way around to avoid the splashing.  We used Low Sodium Chicken Broth.  I suppose Beef Broth would work just as well.  But we had Chicken, so we used Chicken!  Lol!

Step 6:

After adding the veggies, I added the water to fill the crock pot.  For ours, that was roughly 3 cups.  I gave it a good stir, covered it, and let it cook on high for 4 hours.  It made the whole house smell amazing and every now and again the aroma would draw me in to the kitchen.  I took that time to stir it and check the potatoes.  Once they were softened I knew the soup was ON!  It bubbles so majestically in the crock pot.  We were almost hypnotized by it.  

And here it is!

Delicious!!!  It was so warm and comforting.  Cozy with a little kick from the cayenne pepper.  The veggies melt in your mouth and the meatballs are so much better than boring old chicken noodle.  The broth is flavorful and tasty!  This is going to be a new staple in our home!

Final Thoughts!

This meal was satisfying on so many levels.  And it was healthy too!  So many fresh veggies.  Filling and comforting.  With only one potato, split between 3 people in an entire crock pot, plus leftovers, the carbohydrate count is really low!  My nose is also pretty grateful.  It was all stuffy before the soup, and after eating it I could breathe!! All in all, I definitely recommend trying your own version of this for your family!  It's really versatile.  And a new family favorite!