COOKING IS DANDY WITH SANDY

I’ve always wanted to do a cookbook full of meals that my mom would cook for us growing up. As most people will tell ya, “No one’s cooking is like Mom’s cooking”.

Unfortunately, my mom doesn’t really follow recipes and she doesn’t measure ingredients. Every time I ask my mom, “how much of this or how many cups of that?” Her response is always, “I don’t know…just a little bit of this and a little bit of that…”

I guess some people were just born to cook YUMMY food

Me — NOT so much

I have to play around with different foods and see what ends up tasting yummy

So far I’ve gotten no complaints from my hubby or my kiddos but it’s definitely a work in progress

Today I thought I’d try something new and write out my recipe for albondiga soup. Perhaps I’ll make this a weekly post of “Cooking is Dandy with Sandy”.

I made some albondiga (meatball) soup last night and it came out Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

Even my 2 year old ate it all up (she kept saying, Mmmm chicken!…she calls all meats chicken lol)

Albondiga Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 lb 80% lean (or higher) ground beef
• 2 roma tomatoes or 1 large tomato
• 2 Italian squash
• 1 gray squash (or you could use just one variety of either squash)
• 4 whole carrots
• 4 medium potatoes (white, red or brown)
• 1/4 of an onion (white or yellow)
• 3 TBSP salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• garlic salt

Utensils:

• large stew pot with lid
• cutting board
• knife
• large spoon
• Bowls

Directions:

• wash your veggies and peel your onion
• cut your onion in half and then in quarters, use 1/4 and save the rest for another recipe in your refrigerator in a food bag/container
• cut your tomatoes in quarter pieces as well
• cut your squash in half, then cut each half in quarter pieces as well
• cut the tops off your carrots, then cut in half and then into quarter pieces
• cut your potatoes in quarter pieces and leave the skin on unless you prefer no skin
• place the 2 lb of ground beef in a bowl. Add your 1 cup of rice, 2 TBSP salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and garlic salt. Then mix it all together (I just use my hands…WASHED by the way)
• make small size meatballs with your hands (should make ~20 meatballs), then set aside
• Place your veggies in the pot, then add your meatballs on top (so they don’t get crushed)
• Sprinkle the remaining TBSP of salt over all your ingredients and add water to your pot  until almost full (1 inch from the top, since the veggies will add more liquid to your pot when cooked)
• Place on medium heat, cover with lid and let it cook for 1 hour (check on it regularly during this time and adjust heat if soup is boiling over)
• Turn off your stove, remove from heat and allow your soup to cool down without the lid on for about 10 min, then serve

This was my albondiga soup I had last night. I also made refried beans topped with shredded cheddar cheese as a side dish…Mmmmm!

Disclaimer: Only adults should be making this recipe as it involves handling a knife, stove and hot food. I am NOT responsible for injury, illness or death as a result of consuming or preparing this recipe…Sorry, but I have to throw this in here since now a days everything seems to need a disclaimer.