This Week
…has seriously flown by!
Whew, I can’t believe it’s Friday already. That’s what a busy week at work will do to you, I guess. And really, it’s almost May?! When did that happen??
I guess my dreams of going to see John Mayer perform at Jazz Fest in New Orleans are over, seeing as that’s this weekend…
…I wrote a post that either offended my readers or that not many people could relate to.
I know I shouldn’t worry about who comments or how many comments I get, but I can’t help judging my posts based on how much activity goes on on them.
…I got myself invited over for dinner at my parents, feasted on shrimp pasta, garlic knots and wine, then spent the rest of the evening reminiscing about family vacations to Disneyland.
I’m aaaalmost afraid to admit how many times we traveled there as a family. Except really, I’m not because, well, it’s the Happiest Place on Earth and who wouldn’t want to go there as often as possible.
…I went to 3 middle level yoga classes and sweated more than any normal person should.
The only yoga classes I’ve been attending are beginner level free classes on Sunday afternoons because I’m cheap 😛 but I’m taking advantage of a Groupon I bought months ago and am just now redeeming. Unlimited yoga for the rest of the month, wahoo!
…am starting to realize the Bolder Boulder is creeping up reeeeal quick.
And that a 3 mile run basically wipes me out. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t starting to doubt I could even finish the BB. I’m about to get serious about it though. I smell a 5-mile run attempt this weekend. And really, I’m not that serious about it. I mean how seriously can you take a race that Chik-fil-a cows are running?
…I witnessed a car accident.
I was on my way to work on Wednesday morning when the car directly in front of me, rammed into the one in front of it! Both drivers pulled over and got out of their cars so they were both okay, but it definitely freaked me out.
…we made steak tacos for our new weekly taco night tradition.
I liked them, but I didn’t love them like I did the fish tacos. I’m humoring Joey with breakfast tacos for dinner next week.
…I roasted a butternut squash to make a creative pizza.
Then never got around to making the pizza. Oops! There’s still Saturday, right?
…I made plans to go on a kitchen tour with my mom and my sister this weekend.
I’m pretty excited about this! We’re going to “tour some of the best kitchens in Boulder county.” I can’t wait to make all kinds of mental notes about how my kitchen will look some day.
…I finally finished off the Springtime Italian Wedding Soup.
And by “I,” I totally mean Joey finished it off.
…I laughed at this.
And this.
And this. Gotye, you are so weird.
…and I very much plan on taking the day off from not-so-serious racetraining and way-too-sweaty yoga practicing to go here tonight.
Happy Friday, all!
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Have you ever witnessed a bad accident?
What made you laugh this week?
What was/is your favorite family vacation destination?
Springtime Italian Wedding Soup
This title is misleading.
I’m not Italian. I’ve never even had Italian Wedding Soup. My life is a shame.
But as I always say. My blog, my rules.
Other rules include:
- If it involves tiny star noodles, eat it.
- If it involves parmesan-filled meatballs, eat it.
- And my favorite, if you made enough of something to eat it for the rest of the week, eat a lot of it!
This soup fits the bill, so the validity of its name is really neither here nor there.
I basically took my minestrone soup recipe, added some uber delicious mini meatballs and switched out the pasta noodles for Pastina, aka “tiny star noodles.”
Adorable.
And as for the meatballs. Totally easy. Unless you find digging into a bowl of raw meat with your hands difficult and I kinda do, but I got over it and so will you.
And there’s a whole mess of vegetables in there too.
So just like spring, this recipe is the perfect middle ground between the comforting warmth of winter and the fresh bright tastes of summer.
Spring Italian Wedding Soup
For the meatballs:
- ~1 pound lean ground beef*
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 egg
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs*
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a bowl, mix onion, spices, basil, parmesan and breadcrumbs, then add meat and egg and mix until combined.
- Roll mixture into mini meatballs, then place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
While the meatballs are cooking, you can get to the rest of the soup.For the soup:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 small zucchinis, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian spice blend*
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes + juice
- 1 cup small star pasta
- 3-4 handfuls spinach
- salt and pepper to tase
- Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat, then add onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes
- Add carrots, zucchini and Italian spice blend, stir and cook 2-3 more minutes.
- Add broth and turn heat to high. Bring soup to a boil.
- Turn down heat and simmer for ten minutes.
- Add tomatoes/juice, pasta and meatballs and cook 15-20 minutes or until vegetables and pasta are cooked.
- Stir in spinach, then add salt and pepper to taste.
*You can use whatever type of meat you want, I just like to go classic and make meatballs with beef.
*I made my own breadcrumbs by toasting a piece of bread in the oven.
*If you’re out of Italian spice blend like I was, you can just add basil, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes and thyme.
I know the recipe looks a little lengthy, but I promise it’s fast, easy and most of all, really delicious.
Go ahead, do it for the mini stars.
I Have to Be Honest
Oh here it comes.
I don’t read blogs very much anymore.
Except my own, but that’s mostly for spelling and grammar errors. For some reason I’ve been forgetting to add an s to plural words lately…
But really, I raaaarely find myself spending a lot of time reading other people’s blogs anymore. And not because I don’t like other people. Or other people’s lives. Or even other people’s writing. But because blog reading had become an unhealthy habit. Just like over thinking every little thing I eat. And I kinda felt like the two went hand in hand.
And here’s the thing. Once I severed the rope between me and my Google Reader and said “Hey, you know you don’t have to read or comment on a million blogs, right?” a funny thing happened.
I felt SO. DANG. FREE. And once I realized I wasn’t tied to blog reading, I realized I didn’t have to be tied to anything. Except Joey. And my family. And my freckles. But I kinda like those things anyway 🙂 I’ve always felt like I have all these obligations, but the truth was, I was placing all those obligations on myself. And that’s just plain silly.
So while I love all the amazingly talented people I’ve “met” through blogging and I love that other people enjoy writing about their passions and that there’s an online forum for discussion, I just don’t think obsessively reading and commenting is the life for me. So you’ll catch occasional comments from me, but it won’t be an every day thing. And I hope you’re all okay with that.
Because I really am.
Lauren Loves Good Food 