Healthy Italian Wedding Soup

We all know that with the weather getting colder, it is finally soup weather again.  Soup is one of my favorite things to make!  It is so comforting in the fall and winter, and normally quick to make!  I had wanted to make Italian Wedding Soup for quite some time, but as you all know, dinner time for us is healthy for the most part.  I traveled quite a lot the past couple months, so with a week from home, I definitely wanted to make some soup.

This soup turned out absolutely amazing.  It is so quick to make, and was so healthy.  The meatballs take the longest to make, but can be made before hand if you need to.  Because I do not like beans, that was skipped on our end, but most recopies call for beans!  It is such a hardy soup that you really don't need to make anything else with it.  It will fill you up more than you think!  It makes about 6 servings, depending on how much you eat, but it is easy to make it a larger or smaller batch.  So, here we go!

Italian Wedding Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Soup ingredients:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 large carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
6oz baby spinach, chopped
1 1/2 cups pearl couscous (found near the rice in grocery stores) or small pasta


Meatball ingredients:
1lb ground turkey
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic pepper pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil. Add carrots and onions; saute for 5-8 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes more.
2. Add wine; cook down for 2 minutes. Add broth, heat to slow boil.
3. Add zucchini, seasonings, pasta/couscous, and meatballs. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until your pasta is tender.
4. Add chopped spinach, stir through until wilted, about 2-4 minutes.
5. Serve - some people prefer to add cheese on top, fresh Parmesan is the norm!

Meatballs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a SilPat or regular foil and coat with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients well. Using a rounded 1 tbsp measuring spoon or small melon baller, scoop out meat; shape into small balls. Makes roughly 100  meatballs, depending on how small you make them.
3. Place meatballs on baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch. Bake for 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from here