Meatball Soup

What you need:
2 T of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 carrot peeled and chopped into a small dice
1 medium onion - chopped
2 stalks of celery - chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups tomato sauce (or 1 14oz can plus 1-8 oz can) NOTE: I use 1-8oz italian tomatoes diced and 1-8oz tomato sauce
3 cups chicken stock

For meatballs
1 lb meatloaf mixture (ground beef, pork and veal) NOTE: I use ground beef and ground turkey
1/2 cup grated parmigiano or romano chees
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg
2 T - chopped parsley leaves

1/2 lb spaghetti
1 cup basil leaves - torn or shredded

1. Preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat; add olive oil, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and saute 5 minutes
2. Add tomato sauce, chicken stock and cover pot; turn up heat and bring to a fast boil. Start making meatballs.
3. Mix ground meat with cheese, bread crumbs, egg and parsley; roll into 1-1/2 to 2 inch balls
4. Remove lid from soup and slide meatballs into soup; bring back to a boil then stir in spaghetti; reduce heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more, until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through; stir in basil. Stir and serve.

Pioneer Woman Salad

I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks....we made it this weekend and it was fantastic!!!

Ingredients:
1 pkg linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
1/2 to 1 head sliced napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small bag bean sprout
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers
bunch of cilantro

Dressing:
juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped
more chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients together. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Mix. Enjoy!

Note: We cut down a bit on the amount of sugar added to the dressing and didn't add in the jalapenos (for the kids). We also didn't add yellow peppers, scallions and bean sprouts. We used the food processor to make the dressing.

Keiki Cooking Comments:
Great dish for the summer. It's a great light and healthy dish. Pretty easy to make just some prep time to cut the veggies.

Griddled Steel-Cut Oatcakes

Part oatmeal, park pancake, this recipe is the best of both.

What you need:
3-1/2 cups (or more) water
1-3/4 cups steel-cut oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup plus additional for serving
1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanlla extract

Melted butter (for brushing))
2 pints strawberries hulled, sliced

1. Butter 13x9x2 inch mtal baking pan or rimmed baking sheet.
2. Bring 3-1/2 cups of water to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add oats and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to mdium-low, cover, and simmer until oatmeal is tender but still firm to bite, stirring often and ading more water by 1/4 cupfuls if too thick, about 30 minutes.
3. Add cream, 2 tablespoons maple syru, sugar, and vanilla; stir until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
4. Spread oatmeal in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. (can be made a day ahead. Keep chilled)
5. Cut chilled oatmeal into squares or triangle. Heat griddle or heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. brush griddle with melted butter. Cook oatcakes until golden brown and heated through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Divide oatcakes among plates, drizzle with maple syrup, spoon strawberries over, and serve.

Twirly whirly Pizza

What you need:
1 tube (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded italian-mix cheese, divided
1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves

1. heat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll dough from tube. Spread pizza sauce on top.
2. Sprinkle with half of cheese and top with spiniach leaves. Roll up, starting with short end.
3. Cut into 8 pieces, then lay poeces flat in agreased pie tin. Sprinkle wth remaining cheese and bake 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8 servings.

I have made this recipe and it was great. My daughter who is 2-1/2 helped me. She loved the fact that she "cooked her pizza." I also didn't use pizza sauce. I used no salt tomato sauce and added oregano and garlic. Also, you want to make sure that you leave a "lip" (a space at one end that you have no sauce because when you roll it up the extra sauce will go there).