Italian Wedding Soup

Baby it's cold outside...which means it's a perfect time to start making some soup.  One of my family's favorite soups is Italian Wedding Soup.  It's super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

Here's the recipe:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves, fried or dried
salt and pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 egg beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (rings, ditalini, broken fettuccini - something small)
1 pound triple washed fresh spinach, coarsley chopped

In a deep pot over medium heat add oil, chopped carrots, celery and onions and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover pot and cook veggies 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the veggies cook, combine the meat, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  Roll them into mini meatballs.

Uncover your soup pot and add broth and water to the pot.  Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil.  When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start to drop mini meatballs into the pot.

After all the meatballs are added, add the pasta to the soup and stir.  Cover and simmer soup 10 minutes. When pasta is tender, stir in chopped spinach in batches.  When spinach has wilted into the soup, the soup is done and is ready to serve.

As I made the soup last night for dinner I realized that we were out of spinach,
so this was made without the spinach.  Still delicious.
Hope you will try the soup.

Don't forget to stop back tonight at 8pm EST for my Winter Blues Wednesday party.
 Hope to see you then.

-Judy
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