Day 4 at the Campbell household

Hi everyone,

I'm Jenn's sister-in-law Lori, in Ontario. While Jenn, Darryl and the boys were home in August we had great conversations about her Eat @ Home challenge and since I'm the grocery shopper and cook of the household, I jumped on board (even though the rest of the family isn't whole-heartedly supportive). I'm delighted to have been asked to "guest post" throughout the challenge to let you know how we're doing.

I'll catch you up to date on our week. Day 1 was "Creamy Noodle" Tuna Helper but we made it with canned flaked ham instead of tuna (to please the masses). Day 2 was Shake 'n Bake chicken with fries and "homemade" Swiss Chalet sauce. I know what you're thinking..."they bought the sauce from the Swiss Chalet take out window"...but you would be wrong. You can actually buy packets of powdered Swiss Chalet dipping sauce at the grocery store which are prepared at home. This may be viewed as cheating because it tastes so much like the real thing but without cooking it on the stove it would have been inedible so we think it passes the made-at-home rule.

Day 3 was spaghetti with meat sauce. This was pretty simple (a jar of your favourite spaghetti sauce with a 1/2 pound of cooked ground beef, 2 cloves of garlic, a tsp of basil and a 1/2 tsp of chili powder added). Voila...spaghetti & meat sauce.

Today was Day 4 and I am pleased to have been a little more creative. Every year at the Western Fair, the Ontario Agriculture producers provides dozens and dozens of recipe booklets, free for the taking. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE RECIPE BOOKS! I can't get enough of them.

Sooooo...today's meal was Italian Wedding Soup (made from scratch) with some President's Choice Garlic/Cilantro Naan. Here's the how to:

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
4tsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried "rubbed" thyme-not the ground version)
4stp fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg white (or whole egg)
4 cups baby spinach leaves loosely packed
5 cups low-fat chicken broth or equivelant
1/3 cup tiny pasta such as stelline (little stars) or acini de pepe (little "dots")
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional)

Cook your pasta. Drain, rinse, set aside.
Mix chicken, herbs, egg, cornstarch, garlic and form into dozens and dozens of tiny meatballs (1/2 to 3/4" size), meanwhile, heat chicken broth to boiling then lower to medium.
Add meatballs and cook for 2-4 minutes or until done.
Skim off any fat or foam that accumulates.
While meatballs are cooking, roll spinach into bunches and slice into thin strips.
Add pasta back into the soup.
Add spinach and serve right away.

Note: I haven't made this in a long time and forgot one personal preference from last time. Next time, I'll cook the meatballs in a separate pot of boiling water and then add them to the broth. That way the broth will stay nice and clear.

We served this with President's Choice Garlic/Cilantro Naan. Place both Naan on a large cookie sheet. Brush with water (so it doesn't dry out too much). Heat at 425 degrees F for 3-5 minutes until hot. We then spread it with garlic butter, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, cut into strips and serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Voila! Dinner at the Campbell house on Day 4.