My husand had Italian Wedding Soup at a restraunt recently and asked me to make it at home. I did a quick google image search and had him pick out a picture of the soup that looked the most like what he'd had at the restaurant. That brought us to this recipe:
http://castirondarling.blogspot.com/2009/11/italian-wedding-soup.html
Instead of buying frozen meatballs or making them from scratch I decided to use Jenny-O Turkey Store Hot Italian Sausage. I've used it before when making spaghetti and meatballs, and it's a quick, tasty and healthy option. I decided to use them for this soup, and I really think that they make the soup. There's no need to add extra seasoning because the meatballs will season the broth.
....and because I can't ever just follow a recipe as is here is what I wound up making...
INGREDIENTS
- One (19.5 oz) Package Jenny-O Turkey Store Hot Italian Sausage
- 1 Celery stalk, diced small
- 1 Medium yellow onion, diced small
- 1 Carrot, diced small
- 2/3 cup Pearl barley
- 8 Cups Low sodium chicken broth
- 2 Cups Baby spinach, roughly chopped or torn
- Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
Remove the turkey sausage from it's casing and form bite size meat balls. Over medium high heat brown six to eight meatballs at a time in a large soup pot (no oil needed). The meatballs don't need to be cooked all the way through at this point. Brown each batch and then remove them from the pot and set them aside. Once all of the meatballs are browned and removed from the pot add the diced onion, celery, and carrot. Once the onions are translucent add the barley and the chicken stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Place a lid on the pot and tilt it so that there is a little bit of a vent. Reduce heat until you have a low rolling boil. Continue cooking for 30 minutes and then add the meatballs back into the pot. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through and the barley is tender. Turn the heat off and add the baby spinach. It will wilt quickly. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.
This will yield about 6 servings. The calorie count is just under 230 calories per serving....so of course I had a ton of yummy French bread with mine ;)
