My mom, since she's so wonderful, sent me a Valentine's Day care package. I felt like I was at camp again. It was amazing. Does everyone else feel totally special when they get a package in the mail? Even if I order something from Amazon, I get excited when it comes. But when Mom sends something, that's the absolute best.
This Valentine's Day, she sent heart-shaped Junior Mints, a special pack of Starburst, the adorable red slotted spoon below, and the absolute cutest pasta I have ever seen (above). Check it out - little hearts! I've been saving it for a special occasion, and when I saw a recipe that called for small pasta I thought it was just the time to break it out. Fortunately, this recipe only calls for a little bit of pasta, so I still have some left for a second recipe!
This recipe called to me because of the little meatballs. Mom absolutely loves Italian Wedding soup, and although the kind that comes in a can just entirely freaks me out, I am a fan myself when it's fresh. How can you not just love meatballs floating in soup. It reminds me of matzoh balls, but with more flavor. Fantastic.
I have to admit, I got a little bit wary adding water into this soup. When I make soup, I like to use all stock. That's where all the flavor is at! Next time, I probably would use all stock, but it was still really good. The broth picked up a lot of flavor from the meatballs and veggies while it was simmering, plus I seasoned it well with Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. It was not the spice-fest that the Monkey Scientist loves, but it had a lot of flavor.
The most flavor in this recipe, though, came from the meatballs. They were jam packed with flavor! I had a jar of chicken seasoning in my pantry for a while now, and I was excited to get to use it. It really brought out the meatiness of the chicken and made the meatballs hearty and delicious. Even though it wasn't a soup day (it was in the mid 60s in DC), I was glad we squeezed this recipe in before soup season ends. We both thought it was quite delightful.
