Italian Wedding Soup

I got a bunch of coupons in the mail from Weight Watchers and there was a recipe with the one for Smart Ones for Italian Wedding Soup that used 2 packages of Three Cheese Ziti with Meatballs.  The picture looked really good so I thought I would make it.  When I got to the store I just couldn't bring myself to buy that prepackaged food so I bought a pound of 90% fat free ground beef and made my own meatballs.

Italian Wedding Soup

(serves 6-8)

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup panko or bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Blend egg, milk, onion and garlic in blender

Add to ground beef

Add cheese and panko and combine

Make into small meatballs and put on baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake in 350℉ oven for 15 minutes

Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion minced

2 cups carrots diced into 1/4 inch pieces

2 stalks celery diced into 1/4 inch pieces

2 - 32 oz chicken broth

pasta for soup

escarole or spinach, chopped - as much as you like

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and add onions, carrots and celery.  Saute until tender.  Add some of the chicken broth to continue cooking until it is softened. 

In the meantime, cook the pasta in a separate pot. 

Add the remaining broth to the soup pot and bring to a boil.   Add escarole and simmer until wilted.  Add the meatballs (may only want  to make 1/2 pound because you get a lot of meatballs).

Put pasta into a bowl.  Ladle in the soup with all the yummy ingredients and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

Serve with a warmed crusty bread.  We love Wegmans multigrain baguette

Note:  can also beat an egg and add to soup like egg drop soup