I think I may be on to something (or at least I hope I am). For Christmas, I received both Ina Garten's new cookbook, Back to Basics,and Giada De Laurentiis's New Italian Favorites. I love reading a cookbook for the first time, and I read it cover to cover like a novel, marking anything that looks interesting. [note: I am sure this may sound weird to some, a college friend used to do this and I imagined it was about as exciting as watching paint dry. This is one of those happy instances where I am wrong.]
But I have learned the hard way that I have to pace myself when it comes to making these new dishes- after all, I'm making a menu for one. Logistically, I can only make two, maybe three in a week...and that's if I take my lunch to work and eat in every night. So I've tried to be better about planning the meals that I'll make - and it's more fun than it sounds. Usually, the three dishes feature different flavors and textures, but in order to make the most of what I take home from the grocery store, feature some common ingredients.
And to this end, last week I came up with a plan that would not only enable me to try two new dishes, but also to have some go-to meals ready for the future. The key to my master plan was...wait for it...
MEATBALLS.
(disappointed? not rocket science, I know, but baby steps toward what I am going to call "spontaneity in the kitchen").
First of all, meatballs are really unsung heroes. At least I wasn't singing their praises. Everyone knows that they can be in pastas, soups, and sandwiches, but let's just take a second to marvel at that! I mean, it practically rivals chicken in that regard. Plus, it's a great vehicle for using up odds and ends in your refrigerator (sort of like the taco).
Giada De Laurentiis's book featured a recipe for orechiette with grape tomatoes, bocconcini, and mini chicken meatballs (where everything is about the same size - isn't her food always good looking?). Then I also decided to make Ina Garten's recipe for Italian wedding soup - I'm crazy about soup (you may as well know that now). Some people don't consider it a mean, but (a) it's CHEAP, (b) it's easy to adjust the recipe to serve 1 or 100, (c) it's perfect at this time of year, and (d) did I mention it's easy to make?
I decided to double Ina's meatball recipe and use them in both recipes because hers were based on a combo of ground chicken and chicken sausage (which I though would be more flavorful than using ground chicken alone) and because her recipe called for the meatballs to be baked instead of cooked on the stove-top (read: less labor intensive).
My master plan worked! I had enough for both recipes, plus some left over that Im keeping at the ready in the freezer for spaghetti or a quick meatball sub. I can't find my pictures for the soup or the pasta (argh), but see here how this freezer gold was put to use!
Add some pureed tomatoes, et voila!
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