Albondigas Soup

I was watching a Food Network Chef make this lovely soup over the weekend and decided to add it to my repertoire. I looked at her recipe and a bunch of others and came up with my own method. It is delicious and not really that time consuming, especially if you use canned broth or in my case had some chicken broth in the freezer. The addition of the whole Jalapeno adds a bit of spice but not too much!

I had to tweak the recipe a bit and I added more vegetables to make it a bit heartier and healthier!

Meatballs
1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb chorizo sausage or Hot Italian Sausage which is what I used

1 egg, beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Albondigas Soup

8 cups chicken broth (home made if you have it)

1/2 cup onions, chopped

3 stalks celery, cut in chunks

1 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 cup cilantro

2 large zucchini, sliced

2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into cubes

3 carrots peeled and sliced

1 whole Jalapeno Pepper

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup long grain white rice

1 tbl tomato paste

salt pepper

Directions

Make the meatballs first:

Combine the meats, beaten egg, 2 minced garlic cloves, cilantro, salt, pepper and cumin

Form meatballs and roll between your palms or use a 2 inch scooper, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, remove and let cool

In the meantime combine chicken broth, tomatoes and their liquid, cumin, oregano, Jalapeno Pepper and cilantro leaves in a large pot.

Bring to broil, and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Add in your vegetables (except zucchini) and let simmer for 10 minutes, then add your rice and zucchini and let cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the rice is cooked

Add the meatballs and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes and serve (be sure and remove the Jalapeno) To keep the veggies and rice from getting overdone, I suggest you cool this soup down immediately. (I fill the sink up with a bit of ice water and let it cool down there)