A successful riff on a recipe

Nowadays, I don’t often cook. I microwave and oven-cook a lot of frozen Schwan’s merchandise: omelets, bacon, scones, steak burgers, cubed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, broccoli florets and meatballs. Occasionally, I'll fry salmon patties, favorites of Billy AND moi.

I keep a stash of snacks aligned on the counter: Triskets, raisins/dried cranberries, graham crackers, packaged cheese/ peanut-butter crackers, mixed nuts, and the like.

Fruit, pickles, jello, juices, skim milk, water, cheeses, deli turkey, onions, and (sometimes fresh )tomatoes reside in the fridge and cereal, canned goods rest in the cupboard.

After being invited to daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter’s home for a Sunday supper recently, I decided to reciprocate the following Sunday.

Assessing my “on-hand” foods, I decided on spaghetti and meatballs, the latter frozen, the former that had lived (and been ignored) for a long time in the back of a cupboard. It was not an entire box of the pasta. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be enough for five adults, counting the 16-year old and Kid Billy, who would be off work and able to join us.

So, I turned to the computer for “recipes with/ meatballs.” The one I glommed on was called “Meatball Soup.” Most of the ingredients were on hand: one bag meatballs - check; 32 ounces beef broth - check, although I used four beef bouillon cubes instead; two cans diced tomatoes – check; one potato chopped – no, I used the spaghetti instead; one medium onion, one-half cup – check; one-fourth teaspoon garlic pepper blend – no, I used garlic salt, celery seed and two bay leaves.

Since my crockpot wouldn’t hold all this, I used my Dutch oven and cooked it on the range.
After cooking, a bag of frozen, mixed vegetables was to be added. But I only had a frozen bag of Gumbo veggies with Cajun seasoning. That would do, though it contained okra—not one of my favorite foods.

It taste-tested to my satisfaction, but it wasn’t soupy enough. I added a can of Rotel tomatoes and as much tomato juice as the pot would hold.

I do believe it was the best-tasting soup I’ve ever made, or ever eaten. Most of the dinner guests had two helpings in a salad bowl-sized dish.

Some dinner rolls were in the freezer. I cut them in half crossways, slathered margarine and garlic powder (the only item I had to buy) over them. Toasted in the oven, the bread was a perfect foil for the soup, AND I cleared out more room in the freezer.

For dessert, I mixed cans of cherry pie filling and pineapple chunks, cut up several Halo oranges, jarred peaches and frozen pears. Pecan pieces and coconut (after I determined the guests liked it) rounded out the mixture.

Afterwards, we sat in the living room and visited for over an hour
.
Later, I thought ahead to Easter. What else did I have on hand that I could prepare for company?

For another time, I'll tell you about one other online coup.


c 2018, PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR