These ingredients are simple, but when you throw them together it creates the most magnificent and comforting soup recipe for those cold winter and fall nights.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground chicken

1 lb. ground sausage

2/3 C. panko bread crumbs

2 tsp. minced garlic (2 cloves)

3 T. chopped fresh parsley leaves or 1 T. dried

1 T. dried basil

1 T. dried oregano

1/2 C. freshly grated Parmesan

3 T. milk

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, aseogo, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or you can use olive oil cooking spray (They don’t have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

For the soup:

2 T. olive oil

1 C. minced yellow onion

1 C. diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3/4 C. diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

12 C. low sodium chicken stock

1 C. small pasta  acini de pepe or if your grocery store doesn’t carry it you can use tubetini,  stars, couscous, etc.

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

2 gloves of garlic

12 oz. baby spinach, washed and trimmed or you can use frozen.

What to do:

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf,  oregano, basil and sauté until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds,  you don’t want that to burn. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Next, add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Then add the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Enjoy!