You might be wrong if you thought this would be a heavy soup…if you use turkey, it’s light, warming and sooo delicious! Escarole is bitter if eaten raw, but when you heat it, the bitterness softens a bit, and the flavor is wonderful.
Italian Wedding Soup
1 head Escarole washed, dried and chopped
Approx 1 lb. Ground Turkey, Beef, Pork or any combination
3 Tb. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tb. Parsley, chopped
1 Egg White
1 clove of Garlic, put through a press
2 tsp. Salt
Good grinding of Pepper
8 C Chicken Broth
1 can Canellini Beans, rinsed and drained.
Prepare escarole and set aside.Mix the next 7 ingredients well and make tiny meatballs.If the mixture starts sticking to your hands, dip your palms in cool water, and continue.Heat the broth on the stove, add the meatballs and the beans.Allow to heat at medium, covered for 5 minutes.Remove the top, add the escarole and cover again.Allow to heat for 10 min more.Check to see that escarole has wilted and will mix into the soup. The meatballs should be floating at the surface.Serve with a good grating of Parmesan cheese, and some good bread, toasted with olive oil and salt drizzled on top.
OTHER NOTES:
Make the meatballs ahead, freeze on cookie sheets, then drop into a zip top bag for an easier meal in the future.Set the meatballs out to thaw before you put them into the soup
Check out the ingredients for this recipe on sale on thePicky Produce Page!
Ohhhh...! I LOVE roasted chicken! But if you marinate it first, you've really got me. This is such an easy dinner. Marinate a Cornish Hen or chicken pieces in olive oil, lemon, herbs and spices in the morning (or even the night before) and while it's baking at dinnertime, put together one of the most decadent Spinach Salads evah!
Remember that Tony has put many of the items I'm using on sale on our Picky Produce Page and every week he's adding more and more of the "Kitchen Toyz" that I use all the time on that same page.
I really could not live without my squeeze bottle for olive oil. It really lets me control how much I'm using and makes measuring a snap! So watch the video and make a plan to order the items shown, make a great dinner and GET FREE SHIPPING TO BOOT!
Here is the recipe:
Marinated Chicken
1 Chicken cut in pieces - or 1 Cornish Hen cut in half - or any mixture of cut pieces of Chicken with skin on the bone, totaling 6-8 pieces 1 C Olive Oil Zest and Juice of one Lemon (go ahead and leave the seeds in!) 1 lg. clove Garlic, minced 2-3 sprigs fresh Rosemary(or about 1 Tb. dried) 1 Tb. Salt Freshly ground Pepper
Mix the marinating ingredients in a zip top bag until the salt dissolves. Add the washed and dried chicken. Close, toss well and marinate all day or overnight in the fridge. To bake, preheat oven to 450. Shake off all the marinade from the chicken pieces and place on a rack over a baking pan. Bake 20 min. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 30-40 min more -- more time if you have big pieces, less time if the pieces are small. A half of a Cornish Hen will take 40 minutes more to bake. Allow to rest for 10 minutes after removing from the oven.
Old School Spinach Salad
1 - 2 bunches fresh Spinach, washed and dried with center veins removed 12 strips Bacon fried until crispy, drained and cooled 4 eggs, hard boiled 1 Shallot 1/4 C Olive Oil 6-8 White Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly (optional)
Dressing:
2 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tsp. Dijon Mustard 2 tsp. Sugar 6 Tb. fresh Lemon Juice (remove the seeds) 2 tsp. Salt freshly ground Pepper
Mix the dressing ingredients and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Spinach, Bacon, Eggs and Mushrooms. Tear the Spinach into bite sized pieces in a serving bowl. Keep cold.
When Bacon grease has cooled a little, pour off all but 2 Tb. Chop the Shallot, and add Olive Oil. Begin to cook the Shallot, but not a lot. As soon as the Shallot begins to cook, add the dressing and mix well until heated through on medium heat.
Pour the dressing on the Spinach to wilt it. Add the Bacon and toss. Slice the eggs on top.
Even the sweet potatoes are on sale, so go ahead, make a mineral-packed veggie dish next week following the podcast instructions.
EASY, EASY, EASY!! and On Sale, Too! _______________________________________________________
Easy Kale 101 Clean and stem 1 Bunch of Kale Peel and slice 1-4 cloves of Garlic, thinly (if you don't like Garlic, chop up some Onion) Heat a couple of tablespoons of Olive Oil in a pan. Add Kale and Garlic and toss frequently using tongs over high heat. Salt and pepper to taste. When Kale begins to brown slightly, pour in about 1/2 C Chicken Broth or water. Keep heat on high, continue to toss Kale. When Broth is almost completely evaporated, crumble 4 oz. of Feta Cheese (or your favorite cheese) on top. Slide under the broiler, and heat until bubbly.
