Sick Family... and Italian Wedding Soup

Taylor is doing much better. A million thank yous for the emails and phone calls. She is about 80% back to her normal giddy self. Yesterday morning Dusty woke up with a sore throat, fever of 101 and body aches. ( Not so sick that he wouldn't go to work this morning) Yesterday I made the most lovely Italian wedding soup. It was comforting and satisfying. Here is the recipe I used, please try it, it's wonderful.

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef

2 tsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely

2 tbsp Asiago cheese, shredded

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg

1/4 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients gently with your fingers until well mixed. Roll into very small meatballs.

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper or tin foil coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until done. Don't overcook! Remove from oven and set aside.

Soup:

1-2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1/2 - 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules or chicken base (not pictured)

9-10 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of stars pasta

10 oz baby spinach

Asiago cheese, grated for topping

Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes; add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 60 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the basil, oregano, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, chicken bouillon granules or chicken base and chicken stock. Simmer for 45 minutes over low heat. Turn the heat up to medium high then add the stars and meatballs; cook for an additional 10 minutes. Taste and re-season if needed. Add the spinach, mix thoroughly and serve.

( recipe via for the love of cooking)