Potato Meatball Soup, and a side note on meatballs

There's no pictures (how do you make soup look appetizing in a photo?) but we had a great soup for dinner tonight. Start to finish took about 45 minutes, and since everything went into the pot and then left to simmer, it didn't heat up the kitchen (or ME).

This soup might be good with the addition of canned tomatoes, or other vegetables, if that strikes your fancy.

One note on the meatballs- I try to keep a Zip-Loc bag of my meatballs in the freezer. Spaghetti with meatballs is a favorite meal for Ernie, and cooking it is a snap with the meatballs already made. I mix 1 pound of hamburger with a little tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, and dried herbs. Coat a jelly-roll pan with olive oil, coat your hands with olive oil, and make the meat mixture into balls about the same size as a small cherry tomato. I like little bites of meat. Cook at 425 for 7 minutes, and flip them all with a turner. Cook for another 7 minutes, which should be plenty of time if they're small. They don't fall apart, and have the most wonderful browning. Let cool, and flash freeze before storing in a Zip-Loc.

We served this with wilted spinach salad with warm feta dressing, a Serious Eats submission from The Paupered Chef's Nick Kindelsperger. Surprisingly, that salad is a new favorite for Wonder Daddy. For a guy who likes just about everything, finding a new *WOW* favorite is a big deal! Check out his gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce too, another "hit" this week. If you can add one more food blog to your reader, I heartily suggest Paupered Chef.

Meatball Potato Soup

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, cubed
bacon salt
dried basil, celery seed, savory, and rosemary
olive oil
meatballs

Cube the potatoes and put in a medium pot or dutch oven. Cover with about 2 inches water. Season with 1 1/2 tsp bacon salt (or other seasoning salt if you haven't yet succumbed to the marketing pressure), and the dried herbs and spices. Add 3 or 4 dashes of olive oil, and let simmer till potatoes are soft. Add frozen meatballs, return to simmer, and let cook another 15 or 20 minutes. Serve with parmesan cheese.