I hate dinner time meetings and try to avoid them. Tonight I'm
going to a church meeting and it starts at 5:30 p.m. Unfortunately, I
get so hungry my stomach starts to growl. If the meeting lasts longer
than an hour, I'm leaving and heading home for dinner with my husband.
As I lingered over coffee this morning, I considered my dinner possibilities. Swedish meatballs were one idea, but I didn't feel like rolling meatballs at the crack of dawn. Other meal ideas were also rejected. Vegetable soup seemed like the easiest solution and I started it right away.
Most of the ingredients, including the ham, were leftovers. I always have chicken broth, the base of the soup, and a bag of frozen Italian green and yellow beans. There was an open box of cut spaghetti on the pantry shelf. If I added the spaghetti to the soup in the morning, it would be mushy by evening, so I cooked it, rinsed it with cold water, and stashed it in the refrigerator.
You almost need a miner's lamp to see ito my chest freezer, but I found a bag of sliced French bread on the bottom. Ah ha! This would be the basis of my Parmesan crostini. All in all, my "instant" dinner was shaping up nicely. The soup was a meal in a bowl, the crostini a crunchy companion to it, and we would have coffee ice cream for dessert.
Take my word for it, this is a delicious and filling meal. The smoky ham infuses the soup with flavor, the vegetables and ketchup add color, and the cut spaghetti will make everyone happy. Here is my original recipe for Italian Ham and Vegetable Soup with Parmesan Crostini.
Ingredients
2 cups extra lean ham, cut into small cubes
32-ounce carton lower sodium chicken broth
1 small or medium yellow onion, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried onions)
1 rib celery, diced
1 cup petite carrots
1 cup frozen Italian green and yellow beans (or cut green beans)
5 baby Dutch yellow potatoes, cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste (Ham is salty so I didn't add any extra.)
1 cup cut spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
1 loaf French bread, sliced
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Method
Place liner in slow cooker. Add ham, chicken stock, onions, celery, carrots, green and yellow beans, potatoes, tomato paste, ketchup and seasonings. Cover, set on low, and cook for 6-8 hours. Cook cut spaghetti according to package directions until it is al dente. Rinse in cold water and coat with olive oil. A half hour before serving, add cooked spaghetti to soup and re-cover. Spread French bread with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Broil until the cheese buggles and edges of crostini start to brown. (I use a toaster oven for this.) Ladle soup into bowls and serve with crostini. Makes 6-8 servings.
As I lingered over coffee this morning, I considered my dinner possibilities. Swedish meatballs were one idea, but I didn't feel like rolling meatballs at the crack of dawn. Other meal ideas were also rejected. Vegetable soup seemed like the easiest solution and I started it right away.
Most of the ingredients, including the ham, were leftovers. I always have chicken broth, the base of the soup, and a bag of frozen Italian green and yellow beans. There was an open box of cut spaghetti on the pantry shelf. If I added the spaghetti to the soup in the morning, it would be mushy by evening, so I cooked it, rinsed it with cold water, and stashed it in the refrigerator.
You almost need a miner's lamp to see ito my chest freezer, but I found a bag of sliced French bread on the bottom. Ah ha! This would be the basis of my Parmesan crostini. All in all, my "instant" dinner was shaping up nicely. The soup was a meal in a bowl, the crostini a crunchy companion to it, and we would have coffee ice cream for dessert.
Take my word for it, this is a delicious and filling meal. The smoky ham infuses the soup with flavor, the vegetables and ketchup add color, and the cut spaghetti will make everyone happy. Here is my original recipe for Italian Ham and Vegetable Soup with Parmesan Crostini.
Ingredients
2 cups extra lean ham, cut into small cubes
32-ounce carton lower sodium chicken broth
1 small or medium yellow onion, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried onions)
1 rib celery, diced
1 cup petite carrots
1 cup frozen Italian green and yellow beans (or cut green beans)
5 baby Dutch yellow potatoes, cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste (Ham is salty so I didn't add any extra.)
1 cup cut spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
1 loaf French bread, sliced
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Method
Place liner in slow cooker. Add ham, chicken stock, onions, celery, carrots, green and yellow beans, potatoes, tomato paste, ketchup and seasonings. Cover, set on low, and cook for 6-8 hours. Cook cut spaghetti according to package directions until it is al dente. Rinse in cold water and coat with olive oil. A half hour before serving, add cooked spaghetti to soup and re-cover. Spread French bread with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Broil until the cheese buggles and edges of crostini start to brown. (I use a toaster oven for this.) Ladle soup into bowls and serve with crostini. Makes 6-8 servings.
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