Soup's On!

Kurt's been fighting a nasty cold for over a week, so I thought I'd make him some soup for dinner. I didn't want the usual chicken noodle soup, so I
went looking for something a little different. I found this recipe
on the Brown Eyed Baker blog and decided to give it
try. It was AMAZING!!! I'll never make
chicken noodle soup again!

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, minced
4 TBLS grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
2 TBLS bread crumbs
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
2 egg whites

Combine all ingredients and shape into small (1/2") meatballs. Refrigerate for a few hours to help set the shape and prevent them from falling apart in the soup.

Shredded Chicken
Place 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a stockpot and cover well with water. Boil chicken until completely cooked. Shred chicken and set aside. Discard water from stockpot.

Soup
2 TBLS butter
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced carrots (approx. 2 carrots)
1/2 cup sliced celery (approx. 2 stalks)
1 clove minced garlic
12 cups chicken broth (2 - 49 1/2 oz cans)
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup acini di pepe or other small pasta
8 oz. fresh spinach, chopped

Melt butter in stockpot. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cook until veggies are tender, but not too soft.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat down, cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drop in meatballs and cook for about 7 minutes. Add pasta and cook for an additional 6 minutes. Add spinach and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add shredded chicken. Cover again and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. You can eat as soon as the chicken is re-heated, but allowing it to simmer for a little longer allows all the new flavors to meld together. YUM!!!