Okay, I just posted a recipe for a dish that takes some prep work and attention. This one requires virtually no prep at all and hardly anytime to cook, it's more like heat and eat. As I have mentioned, I am totally fine with buying premade items from the store and using them in recipes, anything from bagged salad to premade entrees. Yeah, I can cook from scratch, shoot I can butcher a hog, but I don't want to do it all the time. Sometimes easy is best.

This is a dish I came up with after my wife had gastric bypass surgery and for a couple of weeks could only eat pureed foods. I scrambled to come up with tasty dishes for her and this one was a hit. BTW, pureed liver and onions didn't make it. Don't even try to picture it.

UTENSILS:

Medium size soup or stock pot
A spoon
A blender or food processor...or if you have one a "motorboat" (one of those handheld blenders)

INGREDIENTS:

1 family size tub of store bought premade mashed potatos...plain or garlic
1 bag of frozen premade meatballs...Italian or plain
2 boxes (or a little more) of store bought chicken or vegetable stock
A generous handful or two of grated cheddar cheese
A knob of butter (a nod to Lucy) or about two tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch (a small pinch) of nutmeg


PREPARATION:

Melt the butter (or margarine) over low heat in the soup pot. When melted add the mashed potatos and some of the stock. This is where personal preference comes in, personally I like a kind of thick soup, but if you want it thinner just add more stock as needed while you're cooking.

When the potatos are hot add the meatballs and season with salt and pepper if needed, also add just a tiny pinch or a few grates of fresh nutmeg. Let the meatballs heat through.

Here is another decision point. You can leave the meatballs whole and skip to the next step or you can puree the soup in batches or use your "motorboat" to make a smooth soup.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you choose to use a blender to puree the soup, you must do it in small batches and please, be very careful. Here is a trick, take the little measuring cup thingy off the top of the blender lid and hold the top on with a folded towel. This lets the steam escape and will keep the lid from coming off and scalding soup from going everywhere. Believe me, I know.

Okay, so if you chose to puree the soup add it all back to the pot and add the cheese, as much as you like. If it's too thick add more stock. Taste it and adjust the seasoning.

You can also add veggies and so on to this dish, like most soups it lends itself to endless variations.

Ta-da. So simple. I make it in fairly big batches (usually I double this recipe) it freezes beautifully and is good as a main course with a salad and a toasted sandwich or as an appetizer.

Hope you like.

Hugs...Joni Mari