Italian Wedding Soup

Jana here with a delicious soup that your whole family will love!  Winter is perfect soup weather....cloudy, cool, windy weather makes me start searching for new soup recipes!  I came across this recipe for Italian Wedding Soup, and changed a few things to suit our family's tastes.  Even though you have to take a few minutes to form the meatballs, you drop them in the broth to cook, so the soup isn't very time consuming to make.

Italian Wedding Soup

1/2 pound extra lean ground meat (beef, turkey, venison)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out (or 2 cups fresh)
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/3 cup chopped carrot

1. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil, onion powder, and garlic.

2. Shape mixture into 3/4 inch meatballs. (place on wax paper)

3. Cook orzo according to package directions.

4. In a large saucepan, heat broth to boiling.  Add spinach, meatballs, and carrots.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Stir frequently to avoid sticking.  Cook at this slow boil for approximately 10 minutes.  Add cooked orzo pasta in, stirring to combine.

Enjoy!