Italian Wedding Soup {Updated}

I think I am going to have to change my name to "Soup Lady." Recently, a few of the people around me have been in need of care, so I have been breaking out my soup kettle, and doling it out. I never knew how many soups I made, but you know, when you are in need some comfort, nothing gives you nutrients and ease of travel quite like a soup does. Plus, you know, it's winter. And winter and soup are just great pals.

The other day I was in the mood for soup (yet again.) So I busted out this recipe. It's a real people pleaser. It's got little meatballs, and spinach and chicken broth and teeny tiny pasta. What more could you want in life? Worth the mention here: this sucker is dairy free AND Italian-American. For me, that means I am firing on ALL cylinders. This soup checks all the boxes.

Updated: I was making this soup again, and this time I decided that even though salad is a great pair, I wasn't in the mood for another salad this week. So, I decided to pair it with homemade crescent rolls. CLICK HERE for the recipe. Even better? I stuffed a third of them with pesto sauce, and a third of them with pepperoni. Heaven, I tell you, heaven! Of course, you don't have to make them from scratch to enjoy this recipe. You can certainly doctor up some store bought dough! *No shame in that game!*

Italian Wedding Soup 

Time: 30-40 minutes | Serves 6 | Difficulty: Easy 

You Will Need:

1 pound ground meat (I use venison)
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
6 cloves garlic, minced (2 for the meatballs and 4 for the soup pot)
Dash of onion powder
Pinch of salt
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 package of frozen spinach
1 cup pearled couscous
1 glug of olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons of Better than Bullion chicken base
8 cups water

Method:

Preheat oven to LO BROIL.

In a bowl place 2 garlic cloves, breadcrumbs, 1 pound ground meat, 1 egg, onion power, and pinch of salt. Get in there good and mix it up with your hands until fully combined. Roll the meat into small meatballs (about the size of a ping pong ball.) You should get 20-30meatballs depending on how you roll. If you do them super small, you can get 40. I'm not here to tell you how big to make your balls.

Place the meatballs on a greased cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the meatballs are brown on top. Set aside.

In a big old soup pot, heat your glug of oil. Add your onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Mix and cook over medium high heat until onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

Next, add your frozen spinach, bullion/base, and water to the pot. Bring it to a boil and then lower heat, covering, and let it simmer about 20 minutes. Add your meatballs into the pot and continue to simmer (covered) until ready to serve. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

When you're nearly ready to serve, prepare your couscous (according to manufacturers directions). In general, pearl couscous ratio is 1 1/4 cups water boiled, which you add 1 cup of couscous to. Allow that to boil for 8-10 minutes.

To serve: put your pearled couscous into the bowl and pour soup over. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy in good company! <3 Serve with crescent rolls, if desired.

Vegetable Soup with Curry Spices {Recipe}

Well hey, hi, and hello to you all out there in cyber space! I hope you are having a SOUPER New Year. Hehe. I know we sure are. Like, literally. I have eaten so much soup since the start of the New Year, that I actually *almost* got sick of soup. It's one of my favorite foods, and so I tend to make a lot of it.

We had a HUGE snowstorm here in the beginning of January, and everything basically shut down for about six days. In those six days, we ate soup for five meals. From pork belly ramen to chili to ham soup, we covered a lot of bases. But I don't only tend toward meat soups...sometimes I like to take it to the vegan realm. And that's what I did with this soup.

Us in the snow storm! 

When I'm feeling like I need something soothing for my digestion (which, for me, is more often than I would like), a pot of vegan soup can really do the trick. It's got some curry-ish flavors in it, but it's not over the top, just a little something to be different enough from your traditional veggie soup. By now, you all know my propensity for eat-downs by now, right? It's something we do virtually every time we shop in order to save money. So we can go up to 20 days without going back to the grocery store.

The good news about this soup is that it's something you can make with whatever veggies you have on hand, and good staples from your spice rack and pantry. AND, my mother-in-law told me this is ZERO Weight Watcher points, so you can eat it up until you can't eat no more! Also, I didn't add any noodles to this soup, but if you want, throw in some pasta, which would taste great. Okay, here we go!

Vegetable Soup with Curry Spices

Time: 30 ish minutes, more to simmer | Serves: 4-6 | Difficulty: Easy-peasy  

You Will Need:

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium onion, diced 

4 garlic cloves, sliced or minced (your choice) 

1 large potato, diced

Small knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly 

Spinach (whatever you have, I used fresh) 

Cabbage (about a cup, shredded) 

Frozen corn and/or frozen peas, a good handful of each 

1 large can of crushed tomatoes 

5 cups vegetable broth 

1 teaspoon turmeric 

1/4 teaspoon coriander 

two good dashes cardamom 

1/2 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon paprika 

1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

Olive oil  

Method:

In a soup pot over medium high heat, add your oil. Once the pan is heated, add your carrot, celery, onion, garlic, potato, and ginger. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes or until the onions are becoming translucent. 

Add the rest of your ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for about 30 minutes to an hour (however long you have). If desired, add some fun, shaped pasta during the last 12 minutes of cooking, but do bear in mind that the pasta may absorb the broth so you may want to add more veggie broth accordingly. 

Serve with buttered crusty bread! 

** Keep in mind that the vegetables I added are mostly what I had on hand. You can add whatever you like to this soup, or omit anything you don't like. Zucchini, squash, green beans, okra, garbanzo beans, or kidney beans would also be delicious in this soup!!