Italian Meatball Soup

Another yummy recipe from Our Best Bites. Begin by making Italian Meatballs:

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
(note: I made mine with ground turkey and hot chicken sausage. I just wanted to be a little healthier and spicier. In all honesty, I think the meatballs would have been better with beef, but they were pretty good and I felt good about the turkey.)
2 eggs, beaten (in the future, I would only use one egg, as 2 seemed too slimy)
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 cup dehydrated onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Turn on the oven broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray (or use a Silpat like Brooke). Set aside.

2. Gently combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs.
I doubled the recipe and used a 1/2 tablespoon for a scoop and it made 90 (yes, 90! yes, I counted) meatballs! Whew!
Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the meatballs are becoming brown and fragrant.
The recipe says to stop cooking them early as they will finish cooking in the soup, but I cooked them all the way through since I was using poultry and wanted to be safe that they were for sure cooked well.

Now time to make the soup!

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
5 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (I used salt free---again trying to be healthy!)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup small pasta, uncooked
3 cups spinach, thinly sliced

1. While the meatballs are cooking, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add broth, water, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Heat to boiling. Gently add the meatballs, carrots, and spinach. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.

2. a) cook the pasta separately or in the soup and eat now, or.....
b) freeze the soup without the pasta, then reheat soup in a slow cooker (low for 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours), cook the pasta and add to the soup just before serving.

The cookbook authors said that the meatballs could also be used for spaghetti and meatballs or a meatball sandwich.