Soup, It's Good For You!

When someone in our family isn't feeling well, this is the soup we turn to. Since my oldest anklebiter is now recovering from a surprise diagnosis of scarlet fever, we had this last night. Next time, I promise to take pictures. The main reason I love this soup, is not only because it is really, really tasty- but you usually have most of the ingredients on hand. I usually free form this, so please take the measurements as a guide and make it your own! Also, one thing to remember is that the leftovers usually soak up a lot of the broth, so you need to add more when you're reheating.



Lollyblogger's Italian, Kind Of Almost Like a Wedding But Not Really, Soup

To start:
dice 2 carrots, 2 ribs of celery and 1 or 2 onions.
Saute them in large dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt and 15 turns of your pepper grinder (1/2 t) on medium heat.

After about 5 minutes, toss in two bay leaves, and pour in 1/4 cup white wine. Turn your heat down to low.

While the wine reduces by half- make your meatballs.

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
sprinkle of fresh Italian parsley (if you have it)
1 t minced garlic
1 t kosher salt
30 turns of your pepper grinder (1 t)
1 beaten egg

Mish mash this all together with your hands (make sure you take off your wedding rings- blech) and form into Goldilocks meatballs (not too big, not too small).

Back to your dutch oven--- Add 1 can (14oz) chopped tomatoes, 1 can (14oz) beef stock and 2 cans (28oz) of chicken stock. Bring this to a boil. Once is starts bubbling nicely, add your meatballs, 1 can of cannellini beans (14oz) and simmer for 20 minutes. About ten minutes into cooking, add 1 cup of miniature pasta shells (I also sometimes use tiny ravioli).

Before serving, make sure you remove the 2 bay leaves. I like to shave some fresh parm on top and serve with crusty rolls.

Here's a shopping list of ingredients:
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
2 onions
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup white wine
1 can (14oz) beef stock
2 cans (28oz) chicken stock
1 can (14oz) cannellini beans
1 can (14oz) crushed tomatoes
1 cup of mini pasta shells or ravioli
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
handful of chopped italian parsley
minced garlic

****one more thing! If you happen to have saved a rind of parmesan in your freezer (they are worth more than gold!) add it to your soup when you pour your stocks in. It seriously boosts the flavor!