THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[cooks42]

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands, with their juice (remove the tough stem parts)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 (14 ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, plus 3/4 tsp
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup, and more for garnish
1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup ditalini (or other small pasta shape for soups)
3 cups baby spinach leaves, torn into small pieces
3 tbsp.fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:Prep Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Place a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot to the pot and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes and their juices, beef broth, tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir to combine. Bring to a low simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. 2 While the broth simmers, make the meatballs. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, eggs, 1/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, 3/4 teaspoons of the Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and, using clean hands, mix until thoroughly combined. 3 Divide meat into tablespoons and roll into smooth balls with your hands. Set the rolled meatballs aside on a plate or other flat surface. Wash your hands. 4 Carefully add the meatballs to the simmering broth. Gently stir, so as not to break up the meatballs Add the remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through. 5 Add the ditalini and chopped spinach to the hot soup, stir well, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. Stir in the chopped basil and serve the soup in wide bowls, garnished with additional grated Parmesan, if desired.

This is a fantastic, delicious soup that I adapted from the Food Network. It's very easy and very worth making! Note:I sometimes substitute mild Italian sausage for the pork, just to change it up a little.

[LADawg]

Thanks for the soup recipe. I’ve been fooling around with some soup recipes of late and will give this a try.

[kell]

After the temp here this morning (+25 F) soup has been on my mind and this looks like one I need to try. Thank you! And BTW, yes, it did warm up to nearly 60 ... just that first frost to make everyone sit up and take notice! :roll:

[cooks42]

Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! I just want to ask if I can post pics of my recipes? I guess I just never noticed any. Thanks, it's 88° today in Las Vegas at noon!

[kell]

Hi cooks42. I don't know that pics can be uploaded to this site. That would be up to RG but I haven't seen where to add an attachment (pic) to a post yet. Otherwise, I bet there would have been lots of pretty pics of good stuff to eat!!

[cooks42]

Hi! I have over 650 recipes on another site, and there are great pics, I'll have to get my gear in rear (he he he)and get some of them posted here. I have a lot of new ones also that I need to get posted.

[Reluctant Gourmet]

Sorry, at this time I can't post pics because of the massive bandwidth. As you all know, this site is a hobby site but I am looking into working with a new hosting company that may offer unlimited bandwidth. If that happens, I will open the forum to photos.

Now there might be a way to host a photo if it is hosted on another server. Let me look into that.

RG

[cooks42]

Many thanks, RG, that would be great, as most of us already know, we eat with our eyes first!