Quickie Pepper Soup

Every now and then, I want to make a serving or two of soup without any hassle.  I don't feel like making a big batch and having to store it, or sometimes, I find myself with random leftovers, and see if I can whip up something quick and healthy for lunch, or dinner if I find myself in a subsidized single parenting situation.

Right before we moved, Kyle was away on a business trip.  I found myself in the odd situation of not having anything in the fridge (since we were cleaning the fridge out before our big move abroad).  I foraged through the fridge and came across some chopped peppers from a salad I'd had a day or two before and a frozen cup of pasta sauce, as well as a frozen cup of chicken broth in the freezer. It's amazing what you can come up with when you only have a few paltry leftovers in the fridge and you're sick to death of take-out!

This pepper soup is awesome and literally takes five minutes. 

Quickie Pepper Soup

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup broth (chicken, veggie or beef will do)
• 1/2 red pepper (or a whole one, whatever you have in your fridge!- you can mix other flavored peppers in as well if you want)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat a medium saucepan to medium-high heat.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil (no more than 1tsp) into the pan.
• Roughly chop the pepper.  Toss it in the pan.
• Cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in the broth and pasta sauce.
• Heat the pan to high.  Bring the pan to a boil.
• Lower the heat to medium-high heat.
• Cook for 3 minutes. 
• Blend with a immersion blender or a blender until liquid.
• Serve!

**Since I was the only one eating this, I added a bit of hot sauce and sriracha!  Make it however spicy or mild you like!

Crock Pot Turkey Meatballs

Ugh.  Our laptop exploded.  Therefore, until we get a new laptop, there will be no pictures on CaraCakes.

Anyway, I promised some seriously awesome recipes this week, so let's get to it.

Who doesn't love meatballs?  Okay, vegetarians.  Vegetarian friends, try this with veggie crumble or ground tofu.  And double your seasonings. 

Crock Pot Meatballs

You'll need:

• 1lb ground turkey (I get the butcher to give me a mix of 85/95- otherwise it'll be too dry if you use all white turkey.)
• 2 cups pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken/beef/veg stock
• 2 bulbs garlic, crushed
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup romano
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

• In a large bowl, combine your meat, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, romano, parmesan, and breadcrumbs.  Squish all of the ingredients together with your hands.
• Form the meat mixture into balls (try to make them the same size).  If it feels to dry, add a bit of water to make it easier to mold.
• Turn the crock pot on low heat.
• Pour the pasta sauce and broth into the crock pot.
• Add the crushed garlic.  (you can add extra if you're a huge garlic lover.)
• Add the meatballs.
• This is a great meal to start in the morning, as it will be ready by dinner!
• Serve with pasta, on a roll, or on their own!

*This is another easy to freeze dinner.  You can freeze them with or without sauce.
*Tip- If you like crispy meatballs (we really do!) bake them for about ten minutes on a greased baking sheet at 400-degrees before you put them in the crock pot.

Enjoy!!