Italian Meatball and Rigatoni

Andreas Recipes is hosting a grow your own event where you post recipes where you have grown one or more of the ingredients.

I love growing my own ingredients so I thought I would enter with my Italian Meatball and Rigatoni.

The ingredients I grew in this recipe are the roasted tomatoes, peppers, onion, oregano, basil and thyme.

They had been frozen from last fall except for the thyme which is fresh from my sunroom window, and italian seasoning mix which I had dried from last fall.

The basil was frozen in olive oil and the tomatoes roasted with garlic, onion, and oregano before freezing.

MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground turkey ( or lean ground chicken)
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon dried italian seasonings
1/8 cup parmesan cheese grated
pinch salt and pepper
SOUP
1 large onion chopped
5 cups beef broth
2 cups roasted italian tomatoes with garlic
1/2 cup chopped fine peppers- mixture of hot and sweet, red and green
1 large can mushrooms, drained
2 tablespoons fresh frozen basil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
4 -5 ounces Rigatoni
salt and pepper to taste

First mix together the meatball mixture and roll into 1 inch balls.

Spray a soup pot with cooking spray and start frying your soup onions on stovetop then put in your beef broth. Bring broth to a boil and carefully add your meatballs to cook in the broth.

After about 10 minutes the meatballs should be firm. Add the remaining soup ingredients except the rigatoni pasta. Simmer on stovetop for about an hour.

About 11 minutes before serving add your rigatoni pasta and cook 11 – 12 minutes to al dente. The mixture should get thick and stew like from the pasta starch. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot with- (suggestion) garlic bread and salad.