I got this recipe out of the wonderful "Falling off the bone" (Jean Anderson, Publisher: John Wiley and Sons) cookbook.
http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Off-Bone-Jean-Anderson/dp/0470467134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327819272&sr=8-1
I can't stress what a great cookbook this is turning out to be.
For Day One:
In a heavy soup pot (I used my trusty dutch oven) put 1 pound of beef shanks (that were cut into 2" pieces approx.), 2 quarts (8 cups) of water, 2 bay leaves, about 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper over high heat (medium-high heat if using a dutch oven). Once it is boiling turn down the heat, cover and simmer at a lazy bubble for about 4 1/2 hours.
When done simmering discard bones and cool to about room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to proceed the next day take out of the fridge and discard the fat that will be on the top. This is very easy to do since the soup is very chilled. Set the pot over medium heat and add 1 onion that was halved and thinly sliced, 2 carrots (I added 3) peeled and thinly sliced, 2 parsnips (added 3) peeled and thinly sliced, about 2 ribs worth of celery thinly sliced and 1 medium potato thinly sliced. The recipe called for peeling the potato but I never do. As long as you wash the potato well and remove any eyes, leaving the peeling actually enhances the flavor and adds fiber. Do whatever floats your boat. Now cover and simmer another 50 minutes over medium heat.
While that is simmering, make the yummy meatballs:
In a medium bowl mix 1 pound ground lean beef (I used ground chuck from Silvana Meats), 1 1/2 cups fine soft breadcrumbs (see tutorial below), 4 medium green onions finely minced (the recipe said "white parts only" but I used some of the green parts too--I'm so bad), about 2 Tbs. fresh parsley-finely minced, finely minced garlic cloves (the recipe called for one, but I used 2), 1 large egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper and 2 Tbs. cold water.
COOKING LESSON: How to make your own bread crumbs using a food processor:
It is so easy to make your own bread crumbs. You can always be sure your bread crumbs are fresh (no chance that old moldy bread was used) and that the bread was of good quality (cause it's YOUR bread). Simply ball up a piece of bread (I like to use soft white, but use whatever you want).
Now drop the ball into the food processor while it is on and the blades are whirring madly.
Voila.
Mix the meat mixture with your clean freshly washed hand (the best tool you have in the kitchen). You will be making little 1 1/4" balls. I used a "cookie dough scoop" and it worked perfectly.
Line up your little meat balls on a foil lined cookie sheet and pop them into the freezer (this will firm them up a little).
When ready (I had mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes), put 1/4 cup vegetable (I used canola) oil into a heavy skillet over medium high heat, just until you see little ripples in the oil. Add the meatballs and brown them on all sides. I used a splatter guard while these browned--highly recommended.
Drain the little darlings on a paper towel lined plate.
Add the meatballs and about 1 1/2 cups shredded slaw mix (found in the produce department beside the bagged salads) to the soup. Add a little more water if the broth seems skimpy (I added about a cup to mine--feel it out). Cover and cook 25 minutes.
Now add 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes and their juice, cover and cook an additional 20 minutes.
Finally, discard the 2 bay leaves and taste for additional salt and pepper.
The recipe said that you can add 1 Tbs. raw sugar at this point if the soup is too tart. I thought the soup was fantastic and opted not to add the sugar.
Holy Moly this was good.
Points:
Beef Shank: 21 pts.
potato: 4 pts.
Ground beef: 31 pts.
Bread crumbs: 6 pts.
Egg: 2 pts.
(I did not assign any points to the 1/4 cup veg. oil because the oil was hot enough where the meatballs did not really absorb the oil and in fact they rendered out some of their fat).
Each serving came out to 5.7 pts. each. AWESOME.
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