Easy Italian Wedding Soup

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269824/minestra-maritata-italian-wedding-soup/

Italian Wedding Soup is easy to make and we've streamlined it even further so it fits neatly into a weeknight meal plan. Meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup tend to be on the small side which can be a challenge to pull together if you're in a hurry. Instead, we use larger meatballs in our soup to save on prep time. You can buy pre-cooked frozen meatballs to add to your soup or make a homemade batch ahead of time as we do here. We also use baby spinach which can be added right to the soup without having to do any chopping.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 ⅓ cups chopped yellow onion

• ⅔ cup chopped carrot

• ⅔ cup chopped celery

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 6 cups unsalted chicken broth

• 6 ounces orzo, preferably whole-wheat

• 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 24 cooked chicken meatballs (12 ounces), such as Easy Chicken Meatballs (see associated recipe)

• 4 cups baby spinach

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.

• Add broth, cover and bring to a boil. Add orzo, oregano and salt; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is just tender, about 9 minutes.

• Stir in meatballs and spinach; cook until the meatballs are heated through and the spinach is wilted, 2 to 4 minutes.

• Serve sprinkled with cheese and drizzled with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil.

Easy Chicken Meatballs

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269822/easy-chicken-meatballs/

These meatballs are flavor-packed--thanks to a little sausage added to the ground chicken mix--and all-purpose: serve them with spaghetti for a healthy dinner, on a toothpick with dipping sauce as an easy appetizer or stir them into a soup to make it more satisfying.

Prep Time:

20 mins

Additional Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

40 mins

Servings:

4

Yield:

24 meatballs

Nutrition Profile:

Low-Carb Nut-Free Healthy Aging Low Added Sugar Soy-Free Low-Calorie

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Ingredients

• ¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs

• ¼ cup low-fat milk

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

• ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 2 large cloves garlic, grated

• ½ teaspoon ground pepper

• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) spicy Italian chicken sausage link, casing removed

• 12 ounces ground chicken

Directions

• Position a rack in the oven 8 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler to high. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

• Combine breadcrumbs and milk in a medium bowl; let stand for 10 minutes.

• Stir egg, cheese, parsley, garlic and pepper into the breadcrumb mixture. Break sausage into small pieces. Add the sausage and chicken to the breadcrumb mixture, gently mixing until just combined.

• Form the mixture into 24 meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Broil until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of a meatball registers 165 degrees F, 9 to 10 minutes.

Originally appeared: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2019; updated July 2022