Rival Crock Pot Magic

Olive Garden is on of my favorite places for Italian food. But being Italian, I will tell you, there is nothing close to a good home cooked dinner with family. This soup reminds me a lot of one that I eat at the Olive Garden…only better.

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs mild Italian sausage, casings removed
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
½ grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic salt


Soup
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup mini pasta shells
1 bag (10oz) spinach leaves
grated parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients for the meatballs; mix well then shape into bite-sized balls. Combine broth, paste, and garlic into your Rival Crock Pot. Add meatballs, cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. About 30 minutes before ready to serve add the pasta. When pasta is al dente add spinach leaves. Ladle into bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Sometimes to change it up a bit I’ll use different types of pasta, as long as they are “mini”.

Our family loves corn on the cob, but was bored one day with the “normal” preparation. I decided to do something different and came up with this using my Rival Crock Pot. It turned put so good we gave it our “pearl necklace” award, which is a family term for REALLY good food!

¾ cup butter softened
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
4-5 ears of corn, husked and rinsed


Mix butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
Place an ear of corn on a piece of foil, lather corn with mixture and roll up in foil. Repeat for each additional ear of corn. Place corn in crock-pot and add enough water to cover ¼ of each piece of corn. Cover, and cook on high 2 to 2 ½ hours.