Meatball Soup

   

     mmmm soup! I mean noodle soup. I mean soup! For those of you that watch friends religiously like I do, you will get a giggle out of that.  This is actually not noodle soup, its my
favorite meatball soup.   It has a lot of colorful veggies and is full of flavor. yumm!  Perfect for cold fall days to come. 

I start off by chopping the veggies in small cubes.  You can chop them in whatever size you prefer.

I add it to my cast iron pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  At this time also add your dried basil, thyme and pepper.

Cook on medium/low heat until the veggies are soft, but not super soft,  because they will get softer while boiling in the soup.  You don't want them to be mushy.  Don't start on high heat either because if they burn, you will have little black burnt bits in your soup.  

Next, I add water to fill about 3/4 of my pot.  Enough to not spill over when you add the meatballs.  To the water add one can of tomato sauce, salt and vegeta. Turn heat to medium/high and let it come to a boil.  When the soup is boiling, add the meatballs and cook the soup until the meatballs all float to the top.

Pull the soup off the hot burner.  Add fresh chopped parsley, and the juice from 2-4 lemons.  You can customize the amount of lemons you want based on how sour you like it.

You soup is now done! Enjoy it with some sour cream and fresh bread. 

The full list of ingredients is listed below. 

To make the meatballs, I add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well.  To make the meatballs all the same size, I use a cookie scoop.  I make two batches of meatballs and freeze them to have whenever I want meatball soup in a pinch.

Le Cruset 

Meatball Soup

Broth

• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 15oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vegeta
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried baisl
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• chopped parsley
• juice from 2-4 lemons
• 3 tbs olive oil
• medium size pot, 3/4 filled with water

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 small onion chopped 
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup long grain rice
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried baisl
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• a handful of fresh chopped parsley 

Enjoy!