One bowl of this soup at an East Side Mario’s and I went online to find a recipe. Now it’s a favorite. Try it yourself… you won’t be disappointed.

For the meatballs:
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoon minced onion

In medium bowl, combine beef to onion and shape into small meatballs. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

12 cup chicken broth
2 cup spinach, chopped fine
1 cup dry small pasta
¾ cup diced carrots
prepared meatballs
dash of onion and garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

In large stockpot, heat broth to boiling and stir in everything else, except pasta. Cook pasta separately and add in at the end. Simmer soup for 30 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Notes:
When soups call for gigantic amounts of broth, I have one of two strategies. If I have some homemade stock, I prefer to do half stock and half chicken soup base. But if not, it’s all chicken soup base. Though I buy a brand from a health food store with no added salt or MSG. Otherwise, be careful on the salt!

One plus of this soup is that it stirs up very quickly. But don’t let that deter you from letting it simmer and giving that wonderful smell to the house. However long you bloop it, just be sure to put the pasta end at the end or it will get way too bloated.

Oh, and on the spinach… when I was growing kale in the garden, I substituted it for the spinach. No one noticed. And don’t be afraid to toss another chopped onion or some celery in either. If there’s one way that I cook like my mother, it’s in soups. She, when cooking anything, would open up the cupboard and you would never know what might be lurking in tonight’s jambalaya or “homemade” spaghetti sauce. Thankfully, I didn’t inherit that trait except in this one area of soups which to me are by definition completely fair game for “What’s in the fridge and needs to get eaten? ”

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