Start the New Year off right with these delicious recipes brought to us by Tim Griffin, Carmel Firefighter, on today’s Indy Style!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 32 ounces beef broth
• 64 ounces spicy V8
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 green onions, diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic 
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp spike
• 2 14 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 12 oz cans green beans (fresh are fine too)
• 8 oz diced red potatoes 
• 6-7 diced carrots
• 6-7 diced stalks celery
• 1 lb pastina 
• You can also add corn. 

Directions:

Sauté celery, garlic and onion in the soup pan.  Add carrots. Add tomatoes. After a minute or too, add all other ingredients and let simmer.  30 minutes prior to eating, add mini pasta (pastina). Enjoy!

Savory meatballs 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage 
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 of an onion, diced 
• 4 green onions
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• Pinch of sage 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 tsp spike
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp soy sauce or Dale’s seasoning sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• Slash of oil

Directions:

Heat oven to 365 degrees.  Sauté onion and garlic and oil in a pan.  Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix together.  Create 1 tbsp size balls.  Sear meatballs on all sides.  Crack salt over the top of meatballs in the pan.  Place meatballs in oven to bake for 20 minutes (or until meat is cooked through).  Add to hearty vegetable soup or enjoy alone.