Weekly Gratitude #1

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So this post isn’t really related to food or cooking, but it’s something I think is important. This past November I did a little “No Negativity November” challenge and every day I posted a list of things I was thankful for on Instagram. It was really excellent for staying positive, especially at a time in college (prefinals woo!) when life is getting really stressful. No matter how garbage my day was, I still sat down to think about the good parts and it always put me in a better mood.

So, I decided that for the New Year, I wanted to do something similar. Posting every day for an entire year would be pretty overwhelming though, so I have elected to do a weekly gratitude post. Every Sunday on the blog I’m going to post a list of things I’m thankful for from the past week. And I invite you all to do that too! Feel free to leave a comment below or tag me in your own post on Insta, I’d love to see what you’re feeling grateful for this week 🙂

This week I’m thankful for:

  • The fresh start of a new year
  • Sunsets in the mountains
  • Not getting plane sick
  • Facetimes with my roommate
  • Being reunited with my BFF neighbor
  • Friendship pizza parties
  • The silliness of being garbage at bowling
  • Ice skating
  • Homemade pasta sauce
  • Target runs
  • Sleeping in
  • Finishing two books
  • Productive Sundays

Mama’s Italian Wedding Soup

I am the biggest soup fan. I love cold weather and being cozy, so soup goes along with that perfectly. Canned soups are always a go to because they’re easy, but homemade soup is even better. And surprisingly easy!

My mom makes this Italian wedding soup for us at home and it is SO good. It’s hearty, it’s got some spice to it, it’s wicked easy, and it’s delicious.

Pro tip- this recipe makes a lot, so you can put a bunch of it in a Tupperware in the freezer and save it for later! Which is great when you get back to your apartment after winter break and actually have zero food.

Pro tip number 2- for the minced garlic, don’t buy a jar of pre-minced garlic; it’s way more expensive than buying whole garlic and mincing it (chopping it into tiny pieces) yourself.

Mama’s Italian Wedding Soup

Cook time: approximately 35 minutes

Serves: 12

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Ingredients

1 cup yellow onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 cup ham, diced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

6 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf (if you don’t have this that’s okay! I didn’t and it still tasted great)

30 uncooked cocktail sized meatballs

1 (15 ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups (or more if you’d like) of whole spinach leaves

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (a few tablespoons of dried works also!)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. On medium high heat and in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cook the onion, celery, carrot, ham, and garlic until the onion is translucent and everything is soft.
  2. Add the chicken broth, oregano, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf and simmer for about 10 minutes.
  3. Drop in the meatballs and cook for 7 minutes.
  4. Stir in the beans, spinach, and parsley and cook until the spinach is wilted and the soup is simmering again.
  5. While the soup is simmering, combine the beaten eggs and parmesan cheese. Take the soup off the heat and add in the egg mixture.
  6. Top with extra parmesan cheese and serve, or freeze and enjoy later!

The Journey Begins

IMG_6246Hi everyone! I’m Cecelia, a stressed out college kid in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I’m 19, and a self-declared band nerd and book lover who loves the stars, mountains, and being in the kitchen. It’s my happy place and where I find myself when I’m overwhelmed by studying organic chemistry and writing lab reports.

I grew up helping both my parents cook, so it’s something that comes naturally to me. But, I know not everyone feels excitement at the prospect of making up something for dinner using whatever happens to be in the fridge. So I decided to share my love for cooking (along with a sprinkling of what little life advice I have at the age of 19) to help out any other college kids out there who may be overwhelmed about cooking, growing up, organic chemistry, and everything in between.

So come along for the ride! And before you know it, you’ll be making homemade pasta sauce and remembering to take out the trash like a pro.

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