Italian Wedding Soup

Another soup I made a lot of this past winter was the following recipe. We live just down the street from a wonderful Italian grocery store/market and they have wonderful, homemade meatballs that are perfect in this soup.

16.5 oz mini meatballs
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
garlic salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/4 cup romano or parmesan cheese
1/2 cup acini de pepe pasta

Directions:
1) combine all ingredients except pasta and cheese in crock pot and cook all day on low. (6-8 hours)
2) Add the pasta during the last hour to hour and a half of cooking.
3) Serve with the cheese sprinkled on top

This soup also freezes really well.

Black Bean 'n Pumpkin Chili

I got the following recipe from one of my coworkers. When she first mentioned it, I thought "yuck"! But, now that I have made it a couple of times, I have decided that it is one of my favorite soups and SO healthy for you. This recipe also freezes really well. Enjoy!

1 med. onion - chopped
1 med. yellow pepper - chopped
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic - minced
3 cups - chicken broth (low fat/sodium)
2 - 15.5 oz cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 1/2 cups cooked turkey sausage (I use pork sausage)
1 - 29 oz can solid pumpkin
1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp parsley flakes
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

Saute onion and yellow pepper in oil. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to 3 qt slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours.

B's New Game Shirt

For B's recent party, we requested that everyone come wearing something from their favorite team. I've had an idea for a shirt for B for a while now, so I decided I would knock them both out at the same time by making his 2011 game shirt a little early so that he could wear it on his b'day. Hopefully it will still fit him this fall! I (actually a friend of mine came over to help me) used freezer paper to create the stencil (with my Silhouette) and white fabric paint to fill in the stencil. It was super easy!





And for those of you who don't know...the moose is Malone's mascot. Yeah, I know. It doesn't make much sense...

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I made a special batch of cupcakes for B's birthday party this past weekend. And to go with the theme, a friend of mine helped me decorate them like some of B's favorite balls.



Cookie Dough Cupcakes

1 pkg plain yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg frozen cookie dough (break apart kind that makes 24 cookies)

1) Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcakes with paper liners. No need to grease them.
2) Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with the mixer. The batter should look well blended. Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it half way. Put the frozen cookie dough pieces on top of each scoop of batter. You can push the cookie dough down a little but the batter will bake up and over the dough in the oven.
3) Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your fingers- 23 to 27 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. They may sink a little more in the centers after cooling.

Two Is A Party

B had his 2 year well check-up today and passed with mostly flying colors. He has been hit full force by allergies again so he was wheezing, but other than that everything checks out. He got his last shot (other than annual flu) until kindergarten and he doesn't have to be seen again until his 3 year appt. Because of his wheezing, she did bump him up to two steroid treatments a day and prescribed Nasonex to maybe help his drainage from getting stopped up in his ears. As with past doctor visits we took new measurements and he has stayed pretty true to the course. He is a big boy. She said there was no reason to worry about his weight though because he is very proportionate and his weight percentage is creeping down instead of being off the charts.

Weight: 34 lb = 95%
Height: 37" = 97% (he had to stand for the first time to take this measurement)
Head Circumference: 20" = 92%

Everything looked good developmentally and normal on the autism screening. His vocabulary has exploded in the past couple of months. He wants to "try" anything that is cooking on the stove or that Mommy or Daddy is eating. He loves to go outside to "pay". He loves to play with cars and tractors and LOVES any kind of ball. His Uncle Jesse got him a basketball hoop for Christmas and he shoots all kinds of balls through that hoop. He loves other kids but is usually shy at first but then goes all out to "pay" with them. No potty training yet but it is on the horizon since he is moving to his new classroom, which features an open toilet area, next week. Overall, he is just a pretty happy little boy, for which we are so grateful that the Lord charged us with his care. He brings us so much joy each and every day.