One of my very favorite soups is something I call Italian Meatball Soup. It's basically a minestrone without the cabbage and squash but with meatballs added.

I start with about a quart of water in the kettle.
Add
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Cannellini beans
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced (or sliced thin)
1-1/2 t instant beef bouillion granules
1 clove garlic (I used dried)
2 T spaghetti seasoning
1 C rotini
3 Johnsonville Italian sausages
Everything goes in the pot at one time. To make the "meatballs", I squeeze the meat out of the sausage casings and roll each little ball in the palm of my hands to make them round. Bring to boil and then simmer at least 45 minutes.

My brother-in-law, Gary asked for the recipe and made it himself, with the following misadventures and results:

Gary’s Misadventure with Italian Meatball Soup Recipe

I put together the Italian Sausage soup recipe you sent me and it was terrific. However, I made a couple adjustments ( actually you could call them tactical errors) when I stopped at the store to pick up the sausage and the cannellini beans. While there I saw the diced tomatoes sitting there on the shelf, so I picked up a small can, even though I had some at home. I had all the other ingredients and decided to make the little meat balls and cook them ahead for Tuesday. About 3:30, I began preparing the soup with the 1 quart of water, the beans, the tomatoes, carrots, garlic and celery. I began heating it all as I started the rotini water.

About six or seven minutes later I realized I had forgotten two ingredients, the bouillon and spaghetti mix. I went to the cupboard and looked through my collection of pre-mixed seasonings and found a packet of Kroger Spaghetti mix. I tore it open and plopped it in the soup, then added the beef bouillon. I mixed it well and let it gain speed to a boil for about three minutes. The rotini was doing well and I pulled it off the fire to make sure I didn’t overcook it. I let it simmer another five minutes and dumped the rotini in and stirred it for a couple minutes.

I took a soup spoon to sample the broth and was I surprised! The broth was hot as a firecracker, not flame hot, but pepper hot. It burned like a five alarm chili recipe, nearly sucking the wind out of me. Not what I had expected. The spices floating through the broth were INTENSE to say the least. Very tasty, but hotter than hell. I quickly poured a cup of water in the soup and prayed for help. I looked at the spaghetti sauce mix, but found no answer for the scalding going on in my mouth, despite my suspicion that someone had laced it with cayenne pepper. The bouillon wouldn’t have been peppered, so I went to the garbage can and picked up the tomato can. On the label, in a pretty celery green banner were the words “with green chilies.” I had not noticed that when I bought them. I have now. I added another cup of water and simmered it another five minutes, tasted it and took a small bowl of it. I was surprised at how I could taste the rich flavors through the pepper searing my tongue. I thought, "Man, Jim would love this!" Most very hot foods are just that, to me, little flavor and a lot of hot. Not this stuff, it was delicious, as it started softening the enamel on my teeth.

I wondered why the flavors were still so strong. I looked at your recipe again and noticed I had overlooked the portion of two T spoons of spaghetti mix; I had dumped the whole contents of the envelope into the soup. I finished my soup and walked out to the mail box to check my mail, the stinging still working on my mouth. It began to subside at the curbside and by the time I got back to the kitchen, my taste buds had calmed down, but still the buzz lingered. I had moved the pot off the fire nearly ten minutes earlier, and I decided I would take another bowl of soup. To my surprised the intensity of the pepper has lessened and, though still potent, was much more tolerable. Great flavor and a nice little zing. People who like hot chili and tacos would probably like this version.

Gary:
What an adventure! And you can still try the "regular" version some time and get yet another treat! My cousin and I often have misadventures like this.

About the tomatoes with chilies: Susan put rotel tomatoes in a cream cheese and sour cream dip and it was terrific. So I got a can of them, thinking they were mildly hot. Wrongo, Dog Breath! I have three cans of them in my pantry that I'm going to donate to Robin since she and Chris like hot stuff. I'm really careful now to be sure the tomatoes are JUST tomatoes! I think the dip was mild because the milk products counteracted the heat.

Glad you could eat your "original" recipe!

Rotels to the Rescue

How could I get this old and not learn about Rotel tomatoes? I have never noticed them on the shelves at the grocery store, and wouldn't have tried them yet if Jim hadn't found them at Sams and bought an 8-pack. Those things are great!

The first time I had them brought to my attention was an autumn party at daughter Susan's house. She had made a creamy dip and added a can of Rotels. Wow was it good!

I'm not fond of "hot" food, but the Rotels have the flavor of hot food with only a little of the bite. The other night I cobbled together some left-overs and came up with the closest thing to Jim's favorite Appleby's entre, "N'Orleans Skillet." Actually Appleby's has taken this dish off the menu, so it's a happy accident that I can now copy it here at home. The recipe couldn't be simpler: saute some green pepper and onion in a little oil, add a couple of cups of cooked rice, slices of smoked sausage and throw in a can of Rotel tomatoes. Yum! I've concocted similar left-over dishes, but only when I added the Rotels did I get the taste right.

So I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.