Meatball And Pasta Soup

                                                           

An easy soup for a weeknight when one has only 15 min to cook a hearty satisfying meal. It needs a pressure cooker to set it and forget it....really a lazy way to cook dinner on a busy evening. It seems to make everyone happy as its a mix of soup / stew and pasta....almost a stoup!! I use various condiments from my pantry so feel free to add whatever you have and check for taste....do try it even if you don't have every ingredient! Its an easy use what you have soup.

Ingredients

Your Favorite Pasta                 1/2 cup

Frozen soup vegetable mix

Frozen Meatballs

Crushed Tomatoes                   1 can

Garlic                                      5 Cloves chopped

Peppercorns                             6

Bayleaves                                2

Extra Virgin Olive Oil             1 Tbsp

Butter                                       1 Tbsp

Italian Seasoning 

Sea Salt

Black Pepper powder 

Cumin powder a pinch

Balsamic Vinegar

Worcestershire Sauce

Red pepper flakes

Oregano

Sage

Fresh Basil leaves for garnish....optional

Water to cook or use any stock you like.....about five cups

Method

Using a pressure cooker on the saute setting, heat olive oil and add bayleaves, peppercorns and chopped garlic. Stir once and add frozen soup veggie mix. Add the butter now then stir in and add all the condiments to taste...less is more though. Add frozen meatballs,can of crushed tomatoes and a dash of the worcestorshire sauce and some balsamic vinegar. Stir and saute a bit then add water or stock. 

Let this come to a boil, taste for seasoning adding more salt as you will add pasta next..... and shut the cooker  .....different pressure cookers have varied settings, I used 10 mins. Once the steam has released check for seasoning again, adjust for salt . Serve hot with optional basil leaves as a garnish and some bread for a delicious cold night treat.