Otherwise known as the soup my grandma makes on Christmas day.

Happy Christmas Eve! I hope you all are having a relaxing and peaceful holiday. Today I wanted to share one of our traditional Christmas day dishes. A comforting soup made with mini meatballs and Swiss chard, making a beautiful broth as the greens cook. Usually served with pieces of toast, alongside pasta with sausages and tomato sauce as well as salad with tomato, avocado, and balsamic vinegar. It’s been our Christmas supper stretching as far back as my memory goes, and serves as yummy leftovers for the rest of the year.

I try to spend a few nights every month at Non’s house. Earlier this month, we decided to make some soup for dinner and I managed to get a few pictures of the process. She isn’t the biggest fan of having her picture taken, so you won’t get to see too much of her. Still, there’s something beautiful about candids, especially with a dish as well-loved as Non's Christmas Day soup that’s been made time and time again.

Also, an update since my last post! The Christmas cookies have arrived safely to family members in Montana. And thankfully, all my Christmas shopping and wrapping is done. I need to remember to start a little earlier next year. But still! I found most everything I was looking for.

My mom and I continued our cooking baking, finishing off her biscotti and two batches of my thumbprint cookies. I mixed up the fillings, splitting the Chocolate Hazelnut thumbprints between a dark chocolate filling and cherry jam filling. I filled the plain pecan thumbprints with mixed berry and apricot jam. I keep making cookies and they keep disappearing! I think the oven might have thrown a fit from all of the baking because it doesn't seem to be working right. Alas, the cookies are down, and Christmas is here.

This is a bit of a shorter post as I want to share this with you all before our Christmas Eve begins. I'm off to help my dad make ravioli!

Wishing you all a safe and joyous holiday season!

Non's Meatball and Swiss Chard Soup

Ingredients

• 8-10 cups chicken broth

• 3 bunches of Swiss chard, torn into large pieces, stems removed

• 1 lb ground beef (at least 20% fat)

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 2 eggs

• 6-8 leaves of basil, torn into small pieces

• 1/4 teaspoon salt (for the meatballs)

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (for the meatballs)

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• 1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped (optional)

Method

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, parmesan, eggs, basil, salt and pepper. Roll into very small meatballs, a bit less than an inch across.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat, browning the meatballs and cooking the onions until translucent.

   *If you want to check for seasoning, cook one meatball and taste!

3. Add the Swiss chard and chicken broth to the pot and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the greens are tender and the broth is rich and flavorful. Taste for seasoning.

   Enjoy with slices of toast.