Today’s Country Cooking Month is a companion recipe to the earlier post this month for old-fashioned meatloaf.

Italian Wedding Soup

serves 6

• 2 14-ounce cans low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 16-ounce package frozen Italian mixed vegetables
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 reserved cooked meatloaf, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the vegetables and seasoning and return to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked through (about 5 minutes).
3. Add the meatloaf chunks and parsley and cook until heated through (abut 2 minutes).
4. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Honestly, this was not on the same level as the meatloaf. The next time I make it, I’ll probably saute a clove of minced garlic before adding the broth and water and add some chopped, fresh parsley at the end.

Enjoy!

Debra

June 23rd is Pink Flamingo Day, a day to celebrate the fun or tacky plastic pink flamingos (depending on your perspective) that you see on people’s front lawns. But did you know the pink flamingo is also a cocktail?

Pink Flamingo

Combine in a cocktail glass:

• 1 ¹⁄₂ fluid ounces coconut rum
• 1 fluid ounce Amaretto
• 3 fluid ounces cranberry juice
• 1 ¹⁄₂ fluid ounces pineapple juice

Top with ice, as needed, and garnish with a pineapple chunk or cherry.

Enjoy (responsibly, of course)!

Debra

June is Country Cooking Month and, while “country cooking” can mean a lot of things, I tend to associate it with comfort foods. One of my favorite foods from childhood was meatloaf, so today I’d like to share a healthier version. It’s from a really fun book from Weight Watchers (no, really!) called Now & Later: 160 Hearty Recipes that Turn One Meal into Two. It’s a cookbook that features recipes that use one meal in a second recipe.

Old-Fashioned Meatloaf

• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 5 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 1/4 pounds lean ground meat
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the carrot, zucchini, and green onions, stirring occasionally, until softened. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients until just blended.
3. Divide the mixture in half. Form into 2 loaves and place 2 inches apart in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour.
4. Let 1 of the meatloaves cool and refrigerate for use in Italian wedding soup.
5. Cut the remaining meatloaf into 8 pieces and top each with 2 tablespoons of red pepper.

This turned out great. I can’t wait to make the next recipe – Italian wedding soup!

Dig in!

Debra