The best dinner ever

Albondigas Soup

So on New Years Eve, my husband and I went out to dinner with my parents. We enjoyed great food and great company at a local Mexican Restaurant. Both my husband and my step dad ordered Albondigas Soup. They ranted and raved about how good it was. So I made a version of this soup today. I looked up recipes at allrecipes.com and added some other things and improvised. This is the recipe I found online.

Ingredients
1 quart water
4 carrots, sliced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups salsa, medium or hot
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions
1.In a large stock pot, bring water, carrots, potatoes, onion, salsa, and bouillon cubes to a boil. Reduce to a medium simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes.
2.Mix the beef, breadcrumbs, and milk together in a bowl. Form into 1-inch meatballs, and drop into boiling broth. Once soup returns to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.
3.Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender. Serve with sprinkled cilantro for garnish.


What I did ended up a lot different but so good.
Ingredients

BASE
2 cups tomato sauce
32 oz. chicken broth
4 cups water
1 jar Pace Picante salsa
2 beef bouillon cubes
Oregano
Red Pepper Flakes
Ground Cumin
Bay Leaves

VEGGIES
1 small bag of baby carrots, cliced
6 red potatoes diced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 whole stalk of celery, sliced

MEATBALLS
2 pounds ground beef
2 Tablespoons rice
1 egg
Salt, pepper and oregano
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions
1.In a large stock pot, bring tomato sauce, broth, water, carrots, potatoes, onion, salsa, celery, spices and bouillon cubes to a boil. Reduce to a slow simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 45 minutes. Bring the soup back to a boil before adding meatballs.
2.Mix the beef, rice, egg and spices together in a bowl. Form into 1-inch meatballs, and drop into boiling broth. Once soup returns to a boil, reduce heat to low.
3.Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender. Serve with sprinkled cilantro for garnish. We chose to add some cheese and lime juice as well.


This was such a great hearty soup. It was delicious and we have plenty leftover. I am actually excited to eat leftovers.