Tortellini Soup

This is a delicious and hearty soup perfect for a cold winter's day, which happens to be just the kind of day we are having today in DC! The recipe is easy, as well, since it calls for prepared tortellini (I used dry pesto tortellini from Trader Joe's--I bet refrigerated cheese or mushroom would be delicious in this recipe). Here is the recipe. I love the swiss chard in the soup! I added a half of a chopped onion which I sauteed with the carrot before adding the broth and other ingredients. I actually omitted the chicken (I just used prepared chicken stock) and thought the soup was totally filling without it. You could easily make this a vegetarian meal by using vegetable stock.

Sweet Potato Wedges

This is another dish I made for Thanksgiving. We always love having sweet potato fries so I thought I would do something along those lines instead of a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone seemed to love these and they were easy, too! Here is the recipe.

Pear, Cranberry Salad

This is a salad I made for Thanksgiving. It was a hit with all the dinner guests and it is one of my favorite combinations. Here's what you need:

One bag Spring Mix salad
Three very ripe pears, sliced into thin wedges
Candied Pecans or Walnuts
Dried Cranberries (I like using Trader Joe's Orange Flavored dried cranberries)
Goat Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil

Combine vinegar and olive oil to make dressing. Toss other ingredients in bowl. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

Wow--I must have been studying up on my food photography during my blogging hiatus. I wish--I copied the picture from the food network website. I have been neglecting my blog lately but I do have many new recipes to share! For Christmas, my mom gave me an autographed copy of Giada's newest cookbook, New Italian Favorites. An awesome gift! Giada's Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs was the first dish I tried from the book and it was amazing. Keep in mind, it was in the "(Not) Just for Kids" section of the book so I'm sure everything else in the book is even more delicious! You can find the recipe in the book or here, on the Food Network site. I used ground turkey instead of chicken and mini shells because I could not find orecchiette. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Making and cooing the meatballs is quite a bit time consuming but really, I thought it was totally worth it. It is delicious and different and I love that the chicken broth, tomatoes, pan drippings, Parmesan, and mozzarella end up making this amazing sauce. The recipe makes a ton but really, we could have eaten this for three days in a row and not gotten sick of it (We finished it in two). I loved it, Matt loved it, and Jack loved it. It's a winner!