Italian Wedding Soup

I made this a few years ago for a new military couple who were just moving in to the neighborhood. They had driven across the country and since the Mr. knew the marine, he told them to come over for dinner when they got into town. I had no problem with it except that I had no clue what to make. What do you make someone who has been on the road for a week? Clearly not burgers or pizza but what is something that most people don't eat when on the road. Then it hit me... soup! I had Giada's Italian wedding soup recipe that I had been wanting to try and figured I would make that. It turned out to be a huge hit and the wife, who is now my very good friend, loved it. I will be honest, I don't think it was my personality that won her over, it was the soup. For some reason I have only made this soup twice, once for the couple and just recently. I love the soup but rarely think of making it or any other soup. I really should get into the habit of making this more often because it is delicious. I love the mini meatballs that are just bursting with flavor and the fact that this soup is just so easy to make, makes it a winner in my book. The only thing that takes time is forming the meatballs but it is well worth it in the end I think. We always add half of a pound of mini pasta like ditalini into the soup mainly because the Mr. likes them in there but I like it either way. I also used fresh spinach instead of endive because I could not find any in the stores out here.

Firecracker Swordfish

When you think of kids and food like how one day they love broccoli but the next day they swear up and down that it is poison, well that is exactly how I am with fish. For some reason I have been on the fence about fish since I was a kid. I would eat it when out shopping with my dad but when my parents would make fish at home the smell would make me so nauseous that I wouldn't be able to eat. For some reason though, I continue to give fish another shot and sometimes I love it and other times the Mr. ends up with extra fish on his plate. I made this fish not expecting it to change anything. I had a feeling that I wouldn't eat more than a few bites before pawning it off on my husband. We were both pleasantly surprised when I pretty much finished my plate. The marinade really gave the fish a lot of flavor and it complimented the fish very well. When I grilled the fish I did brush the grill with oil because fish always stick to the grill.

Upside Down Cranberry Cake

Not sure what to do with your left over cranberries from the holidays? Well this is the perfect recipe to use them up. I came across this recipe over at Lisa's blog and I knew that I had to give it a try. I had a bag of left over cranberries sitting around from Thanksgiving and they were still good. I checked to make sure that I had everything to make the cake and then after dinner that night got to work making dessert. Just a heads up, this cake will not last long. The first night the Mr. and I ate half the cake. There is just something about the sweet cake and the tart cranberries that make you go back for more.

Caramel Apple Pie

I have been making this pie for Thanksgiving the past couple of years and I am a huge fan. I found it on All Recipes and fell in love. It has become a staple every year on Turkey day as much so as the mashed potatoes and stuffing. However with Christmas fast approaching and a feast to be prepared, I am still wondering, "what am I going to make this year?" Usually the Mr. and I fly or drive home to family, depending on where we are living at the time. This year we were unable to fly home for the holidays both because of the cost of a plane ticket and because the Mr.'s schedule. Which is a real bummer because the biggest holiday of the year for me and my family is Christmas Eve. No that is not a typo, I really mean Christmas Eve. Ever since I was a kid, every year on Christmas Eve the entire family would get together at my Aunt and Uncle's house and there would be movies playing in the living room, family members sitting around a table eating snacks in the dining room, kids playing with their toys in the bedrooms, as well as games of table tennis and pool going on. Well this year, it is just the Mr. and I. No crazy family members to celebrate Santa's return to Central NY or even getting to watch my niece open up her gifts on Christmas morning. Instead, we will have a quiet holiday with just us and the 3 kitties.

Hot Dog Sushi

Don't let the name scare you, this is actually really good. It is a nice change from the every day sushi. I came up with making it when I was trying to figure out what to make the Mr. for that weeks lunch. He says that a turkey sandwich is fine but I would get bored with the same old sandwich every day of the week. So I am always wracking my brain trying to come up with some different kind of lunch I can send him off with for the day. Then it hit me, he likes hot dogs and he kind of likes sushi, so why not combine the two! I mean surely, what is not to love, right? I tried to think of everything that he puts on his hot dogs, pickles or relish, cheese and mustard and ketchup. That is where I back track, ketchup just didn't sound right in this so I stuck to mustard. Some would argue that you are not supposed to put ketchup on hot dogs but I guess you could say that we like to live on the wild side in this house. Go Ketchup!