Italian Wedding Soup

Soup. I LOVE soup. It's warm. It's filling. And it tastes great on a cold day or night. In fact, I don't know a single person that doesn't like soup. Over the next few cold months, I will undoubtedly be uploading a number of soup recipes like Potato Leek, Curried Chicken Noodle, White Chili, Chipotle Chili...the list could go on. However, my favorite fall soup.) is Italian Wedding Soup. Essentially, it's veggie soup with meat balls. What makes it great in the fall is the abundance of fall veggies to throw into the soup. And best of all it's really easy to make.

Inspiration: Monica's overflowing tomato basket
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: mini muffin pan
Servings: 6-8 bowls

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or 1/2 lb ground pork and 1/2 lb ground beef)
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Panko (or whatever breadcrumbs you have in the pantry)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
3-4 medium carrots, diced
3-4 sticks of celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
2-3 potatoes, cubed, bite sized
1 zucchini, diced
5-6 large tomatoes (2 lbs), diced and juices saved (if out of tomato season, use 2 12 oz cans of diced, unsalted tomatoes)
32oz of chicken stock or broth (can substitute veggie broth)

To make the meatballs:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend ground meat, grated onion, parsley, egg, wooster, garlic, salt, panko, parmesan and pepper in a large bowl using your hands (seriously, this is the only way to do it).
3. Using 1 1/2 tablespoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place in mini muffin pan so that the meatball is elevated off the bottom. You may need to make larger or smaller meatballs to accomplish this. If you do not have a mini muffin pan, you can use a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating meatballs once to ensure they cook evenly. Remove from oven and let sit.

To make soup:
1. In a large sauce pan, melt butter or heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion is transparent. Add Peppers, thyme and oregano. Cook until peppers are tender.
2. Add 1/2 of stock and bring to a boil. Turn down to low, and add potatoes. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are tender but not soft.
3. Add Tomatoes (including any juice that came from the tomatoes,) zucchini, remaining stock and bring back to a simmer.
4. Add meatballs, and continue to simmer until meatballs have come to temperature with the soup.

Notes: This soup is served best while hot. I also like to add 1/4 spinach leaves that have been sliced thinly to the bowl before I pour in the soup, and then sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.