Mexican Meatball Soup with make your own Quesadilla

When the weather outside is frightful I think of things to warm me up.  Hot soup from a hot climate does the trick for me.

This is what Rachael Ray would call a "Stoup" a cross between a soup and a stew.  It is thick and hearty and a perfect "tummy warmer" for on this cold and snowy day.

I am making this soup with turkey meatballs (for the girls) and a base of chicken stock but you can easily use beef stock and make beef or pork meatballs.  Or you can make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock, no meatballs and double the rice to 1 cup.

I am going to serve this with "Make your own Quesadillas".  You can always make the Quesadillas and serve them but my family enjoys the opportunity of choosing their own combinations.  I put the Panini press on the table and we cook them as we eat our soup.

Tips of the day

• My friend Catherine (who is Italian) taught me (who is Jewish and would never have thought of this) to always add milk to meatballs.  The addition of milk insures a tender meatball

• Use your Pizza Cutter to cut the Quesadillas into quarters.

Mexican Meatball Soup


Ingredients


Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup salsa
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (if you don't like cilantro use chopped Italian parsley)
1/2 cup rice
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Meatballs
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (if you don't like cilantro use chopped Italian parsley)

Instructions
Heat a large stock pot on medium.  Add oil and then add onions.  Cook about 4 minutes until onions have softened.   Add garlic and cumin and cook about 1 minute until fragrant.  Add tomatoes, salsa and cilantro.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low (simmer) and cover with lid.
In a bowl add ground turkey, cumin, salt, corn meal, milk, egg and cilantro.  Dampen your hands and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
Remove lid from soup pot.  Dampen your hands and form meatballs (you will have to dampen your hands several times to keep the meatball mixture from sticking).  Drop the meatballs into the soup.
Let cook on low with lid on for at least 1/2 hour.  You can leave this for several hours simmering on low.
1/2 hour before you are serving the soup add 1/2 cup of raw rice to the pot,  Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil.  When the pot is boiling cover the pot and reduce heat to low.  Leave for 20 minutes and until rice is cooked.  Add frozen corn, heat through and serve.

Quesadillas

1 package (12) small tortillas (you can use, white, whole wheat or corn)


Suggested fillings
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Grated Pepper Jack Cheese
Chopped Cilantro
Chopped Red or Green Peppers
Chopped Tomatoes
Sliced Black Olives
Sliced Green Olives
Diced Red Onion
Chopped Jalapeno Peppers
Dips
Guacamole (see my blog for fish tacos)
Salsa
Sour Cream

Top a tortilla with your choice of toppings, add another tortilla on top and put on the grill until the cheese is melted.