Matzo Ball Soup- all for yum, and yum for all!

Whether it's Passover or not, and whether you're Jewish or not, you'll want to savor the Matzo Ball Soup experience. My family is Jewish, and since Passover was this past week, I was up for the challenge (*cough* I mean, happy to honor the celebration) of eating unleavened bread (matzo), fruit, veggies, meat and dairy (keeping the last 2 separate, of course) for 8 days. No bread, cake, cookies, crackers, etc. The good thing is, when the Jewish holidays come around, our brains automatically pull up mouth-watering recollections of past holiday meals, all of which are full of delicious-ness: tender, juicy brisket (recipe coming); strawberries and chocolate over meringue cookies (made by the amazing Martha Hochman); and of course, matzo ball soup.
Jenn and I were both planning to make some MB soup last week, so we decided to have a party and make it together. We threw carrots, celery, onions, chicken, a bay leaf (and soup mix) into a pot, let it boil while we mixed, chilled, rolled and dropped the little balls in with a splash, and waited with bated breath. When all was said and done, we had some awesome soup. Sadly, in my excitement and anticipation, I put two batches together (and added some more water, thinking the soup was a little too salty and we could use some more broth for all these matzo balls)...and between some of the matzo balls being forced to stay under water and not being able to fluff up, and the change in water temp while boiling, a number of my little friends couldn't show us their full potential. Thus, I had another matzo ball party of 1 (me) a few days later while making brisket and all was well with the world. So enough talk, let's get to the recipe.
As you've learned vicariously through my antics (and so you have no reason to repeat them), you should only make one batch of matzo balls at a time, even if you have a big pot. Also, you should follow the directions EXACTLY. If you don't, you can end up with toughy (as opposed to fluffy) matzo balls, which won't taste nearly as good. I'll also say now that while these matzo balls will be good, they are made from a mix which means they:

1) probably aren't as good as a Jewish grandmother's homemade matzo balls would be.
2) probably aren't as good FOR you...We like them salty, but I'm sure we had more than our share of sodium this Passover.

You can always try out a homemade recipe when you're feeling bold, but for now, all you need is...(yes, I'm really getting to the recipe)

a box of Matzo Ball Mix
eggs
vegetable oil
stuff for chicken soup

You can find the MB mix in the ethnic section of the store (look for the Jewish stuff- matzo, gefilte fish, and anything that says 'Manischewitz'. You can buy a matzo ball mix, or (as I did this year), you can get a Matzo Ball AND SOUP mix in one with a little packet of salty, flavorful goodness to add into your soup.

Then bring everything home and follow the directions. Mix the matzo ball packet with 2 tbsp. vegetable oil and 2 eggs, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, form into little balls (It helps if your hands are wet, but not TOO wet, and be sure to form the balls fast. You don't want to mess with them too much). I'm not trying to be dirty, btw- there are only so many ways to say 'don't over-handle the balls'.

Drop them in the boiling soup, cover tightly, and lower the heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Do not open it, do not add more water (that was dumb, I admit it), do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just wait and relax. After 20 minutes, the matzo balls should be nice and fluffy. I usually make a bunch, so I'll store matzo balls in one container and soup in another. If I'm really organized, I might make a couple little on-the-go bowls/containers for lunches right away. This year, we also shared some with Kyle's co-workers and a family I babysit, as well as our roommate Julie- all of whom were trying it for the first time and loved it. YAY!

So that's matzo ball soup. Enjoy it and please post any comments or questions you may have. Thanks for reading!!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Yum, Yum, Yum! Made this as an appetizer for Easter and everyone loved it!

1 8oz package of cream cheese softened
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach thawed and drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

I made mine in the crock pot: Mix all the ingredients in the crock pot dish (except for 1/4 cup of the mozz. cheese). Heat on high for 45 minutes, stir and then sprinkle remaining mozz. cheese on top and heat on high for another 15 minutes. Switch to keep warm and enjoy. We dipped carrots, celery, peppers, and chips in the dip.

Can also be made in the oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a small pan. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl (except for 1/4 of the mozz. cheese) and then transfer to the small pan, sprinkle remaining mozz. cheese over the mix. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted. yum.

White Bean Chicken Chili

We recently borrowed a crock pot from friends of ours (they have 2 and were so sweet to lend us one) and I was so excited to make my first crock pot recipe- white bean chicken chili! I found the recipe online at http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchicken/r/bl118c19.htm and changed it a little bit- it turned out AMAZINGLY delicious. I will definitely make this again, and it was pretty easy. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
* 1 lb chicken, cut up into small chunks (I actually baked the chicken first and broke it into smaller pieces. It ended up pulling apart and being so flavorful by the end- just an option).
* 1 cup chopped onion (I used a whole onion and stuck it in my Tupperware Quick Chef to chop it up)
* 1 can chicken broth (I used a 15 oz. box of broth)
* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely (I used 2 tbsp. from a jar of minced garlic)
* 2 tsp Cumin seed- ground will not withstand long cooking as well (I didn't have any, so I skipped this)
* 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
* 3 -15oz cans white beans (great northern or cannellini), drained and rinsed (I used great northern beans)
* 1 or 2 chopped red, green or yellow bell peppers, or combination (Kyle and I aren't big pepper eaters, so I chopped up one yellow pepper)
* jalapeno chili peppers, fresh, jarred or canned, optional or 'to taste' (we used some chile peppers- not too hot- from a can. Didn't do a whole lot, but did add another flavor.

Prep:
In a 4 or 6 quart crock pot, combine the chicken, onions, broth, garlic, (cumin) and oregano.

Let cook awhile on low (approx. 3-5 hours, depending on your schedule)
Then add drained beans.

Add the bell peppers and jalapeno peppers no earlier than the last hour or hour and a half before serving or it'll get mushy.

Top each serving with shredded Monterey jack cheese and or broken tortilla chips if desired (we also put some sour cream on top).

Thanks to 'boathoff' for sharing online so that we could try out this awesome meal. Mmm mmm we'll be making this one again and hopefully you'll be able to try it, too!