Thursday, June 2, 2016

Italian Wedding Soup

I love a good hearty soup that is also healthy and this one fits the bill!  I also love to take shortcuts so I used the recipe attached to the link below and adapted to meet my needs! 
 
Ingredients
  • Meatballs:
  • 1 lb. ground sirloin
  • 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic clove, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Greek seasoning
  • Soup:
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp.garlic cloves, minced
  • 7 cups chicken stock - I used one large carton plus one can
  • generous amount of dill, chopped
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup acini di pepe
  • 2 cups, fresh spinach leaves, rinsed, stems removed and julienned
 
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine all meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  2. Form meatballs using a small scoop. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in refrigerator.
  3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, covered until soft, 10 minutes.
  4. Add chicken stock, dill, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
  5. Add acini di pepe and continue to cook for 6 minutes until pasta is tender.
  6. Drop the meatballs into the soup and continue to cook for 4 minutes, until the meatballs float.
  7. Add spinach and parmesan and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  8. Serve immediately.
 
*For a quicker version of this meal, you could also buy a sausage and cut into circles and add to the pot.  Turkey sausage would make this even healthier!  You could also make your meatballs with ground pork, chicken or turkey as well!   



Source: http://thebeachhousekitchen.com/2016/01/07/italian-wedding-soup-3/