Meatball Soup

My Mother & Father-in-law are visiting for the holiday season.  As always, my father-in-law brought along some great recipes!  Tonight, we had meatball soup which was a simple and filling supper when paired with a loaf of crusty bread!  I ramped it up a bit with fresh baked meatballs which I made earlier today.  You can use packaged turkey or beef meatballs if you don’t have time to make your own.  I’ll include the meatball recipe after the soup recipe.  

Meatball Soup:

(Serves 10)

2 tbsp olive oi

1 cup carrots diced

1 cup onion diced

3/4 cup celery diced

1 medium zucchini 

1 Jalapeño Pepper

4 green onions sliced thin

1 (15oz) can great northern beans, rinsed & drained 

2 (14oz) cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (32oz) carton of reduced sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

6 tbsp brown rice

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

16-20 meatballs, frozen & cooked according to package or fresh (see recipe below)

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add all the diced vegetables. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, water, rice, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add meatballs, cover and allow to simmer for another 45 minutes.

Baked Meatballs: 

1 pound lean ground beef 

1 pound ground pork

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 small onion, diced

4 tbsp marinara

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp basil

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well, do not over mix or you will have tough meatballs.
3. Roll about 2 tbsp portion of meat mixture into a ball and place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture to make approximately 40 meatballs.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.
   

Enjoy!