Italian Wedding Soup

Here is another warm, satisfying soup for these cold and snowy days (at least, they are cold and snowy around here). This is perfect to make on a Sunday afternoon. It’s not hard, but it takes a little time to get everything ready. It’s all worth it, though. It makes about three whole meals for us, so we can eat it another two times during the week, really cutting back on the amount of cooking I have to do.

Plus, the kiddo loved it. Anytime he scarfs down my cooking is sweet success in my book.

Italian Wedding Soup

⅔ lb lean ground beef
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp italian seasoning (combo of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary)
¼ tsp salt
bit of black pepper
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp parsley
1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, with your hands, until fully combined.

Form into miniature meatballs. I like to do them pretty small, so they cook fully. Put them in a coated (Pam) dish, whatever you might have (I happened to have a pie pan on the counter), and cover them. Refrigerate until ready for use. I often do this earlier in the day, ie. when my child is sleeping, since this is what takes the longest.

3 cups carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
8 cups chicken broth
2 ½ cups uncooked shell pasta (try to use whole-wheat, it’s just better)
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
½ tbsp parsley

If you use bouillon, make the chicken broth while you are chopping the vegetables. I just boil the water in a covered saucepan, add the cubes, and let it sit, covered, until I am ready to add it. The cubes will dissolve in time.

Have everything ready to go on your counter

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Saute the carrots and onions until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally. It may take a bit, since there are a lot of them. When that is done, add garlic, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper, and saute until fragrant. Add the chicken broth. Cover, and bring to a slow boil. Drop in the meatballs, carefully, one at a time. Then add the pasta and spinach.

Return to a simmer, and cook, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in parsley.

Serve with a little parmesan sprinkled on top (if you want), and some warm bread. So warm and filling for a cold winter day. Yum.

Since I should really cite my sources, I got this recipe from one of the blog links on the right - Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice - but I did change it to my own tastes. I think it’s a bit better, but I still can’t take all the credit for it =) There are also many different variations of this out there, though. I like this one best, however, if I do say so myself =)

Like I said, this makes at least three whole meals of us. Each of the big containers is a meal for all three of us. I am going to freeze the smaller one to see how it works. If it freezes well, I will report back. Enjoy!