The Neverending (Sleeping Pill) Story

Scott’s been visiting his family.  Whenever I pick him up from the airport after one of these trips, he tells me he had the best time and they did so many fun things.  Then he asks what I did.

I tell him the truth–something like:

WELL, on Friday night I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas eating shredded cheese out of a bag and watching TV and then AN INCH WORM FELL INTO MY LAP.  I think from my hair?  From playing outside, you know?

[pause]

And I was just glad it didn’t fall into the cheese because then I would have had to throw the whole thing away and I didn’t want to get up because I was basically killing it at life right then.

And because he’s supportive or maybe just baffled, he says “WOW, hon.  I mean, WOW.”  And I say, “I know, right?  IT WAS NUTS.”  And then, for different reasons, we drive the rest of the way home in silence.

This time, I wanted my weekend to be more awesome than his.  Not that it’s a competition, really.  (Door prizes, y’all.  There will be door prizes.)

The problem is that nothing happened here.

I spent Friday night eating a box of cookies and looking for my W-2.

I spent Saturday half-asleep because FYI, FEDERAL DRUG ADMINISTRATION: THE SLEEPING AID YOU APPROVED FOR HUMANS COULD KNOCK OUT A BUNCH OF MALE HIPPOS.

I woke up part-way through Saturday feeling like I’d been hit in the head with a tranquilizer dart.  I stayed awake for ten whole minutes, which was long enough to take this video in which nothing happens:

And then I fell asleep again.  On the concrete.  Surrounded by pollen.

And that’s why I had to take the allergy pill that interacted with the neverending sleeping pill to simulate a psychedelic drug the FDA hasn’t even approved for hippo use.

This is the view of the trippy sunset from where I lay, in fetal position, on a bed of pollen.

And that brings us up to the present. 

I have to get Scott soon, and my plan is to stuff his face full of turkey meatballs so he can’t say anything.  And I will blast “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” on the drive home.

He’ll get the point.

If you ever need to shut someone up with meatballs, you should make this turkey meatball soup.

It’s fresh and light and the meatballs pack a savory punch.  I bet kids would like it with little alphabet pastas in there.  The vegetables are flexible, so if you don’t like something in the recipe (tomatoes, celery, etc.) you can just leave it out.

To be clear: you see these meatballs?

You’re going to want to put them in everything now.  Scott will probably pick them out of the soup when I’m not looking and put them on a sub with some tomato sauce and melted mozzarella.  And I won’t even be mad because it’ll taste amazing.

Spring Soup with Chicken (or Turkey) Meatballs {Download & Print Recipe}

A recipe in the April 2012 issue of Bon Appetit, adapted a little by me.

Ingredients:

6 oz. ground chicken or turkey (about 3/4 c.)

3 tbsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

7 tbsp. finely grated Parmesan, divided

4 garlic cloves (2 minced, 2 thinly sliced)

1 egg, whisked

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, sliced into 1/4″ rounds

7-8 c. chicken broth (reduced salt or no salt)

3/4 c. small pasta (like acini di pepe, ditalini, stellette, orzo, or little alphabet pasta)

1 c. carrots, peeled and chopped and cut into 1/2″ rounds

1 c. celery, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ pieces

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 c. spinach (packed)

3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the ground chicken (or turkey), the bread crumbs, 3 tbsp. of the Parmesan, the 2 minced garlic cloves, the egg, the salt and the pepper.  Using your hands, roll into 1/2″ diameter meat balls (you’ll probably get about 30).

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pot (big enough to hold all the soup later) over medium heat.  Cook the meatballs until they’re golden all over, 3-7 minutes (they’ll finish cooking in the soup.  [Note: you don’t need the heat up so high that they fry and get a dark crispy coat over them.  If that happens, though, it’s okay.]  Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set aside.  Keep any remaining oil in the pan.

Add the leek to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Add the 2 thinly-sliced cloves of garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add 6 cups of the broth and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.

Stir in the pasta and the carrots.  Simmer until the pasta is almost al dente, about 8 minutes.

Add the meatballs, celery, tomatoes, the remaining 4 tbsp. of Parmesan, and the spinach (which you can tear into smaller pieces if the leaves are larger than baby spinach).  Add the remaining cup of chicken broth, and then another, if the soup isn’t very soupy.

Taste the soup and sprinkle salt on it, if desired, until it tastes the way you want it.  [Note: I used no-salt chicken broth, so mine wound up needing a little salt boost to bring out the flavors here.]

Simmer a few minutes, until the celery and carrots are tender, the spinach has wilted, and the meatballs are cooked through.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the chopped basil and more grated Parmesan, if desired.

~~~

I don’t always understand what they do together, but Thunder sure missed Scott this weekend.  Like I was saying, I was rocking out so I didn’t really notice he was gone.