Yeah, I blogged about this before. But, that post is long winded and I have refined my method ever so slightly. Also Kraft doesn’t make Roasted Red Pepper Italian dressing any more. Which isn’t a huge deal, but still. Mainly, I make my meatballs & chicken both in the oven now.

Here’s the recipe for the meatballs & the soup. I don’t measure anything, so these are guesses.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

• ~3 lbs. ground beef (80/20)
• ½ bag Seasoned croutons, crushed (eyeball it; you want mostly meat, not bread)
• splash of milk, to soak the crushed croutons
• ½ cup French fried onions, crushed
• splash of Zesty Italian (eyeball it)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup chopped fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• ¼ cup Parmesan/Romano “shake cheese”
• Seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, Dash table blend

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Crush the croutons (I used a ground meat masher thing – but you can do it by hand, or in a baggie with the shake-cheese bottle) and the French fried onions. Stir the milk into the croutons and let them soak for a few minutes (The internet tells me this is a panade.)
3. In a big bowl, mix the beef, soaked croutons, French fried onions, a splash of dressing, the eggs, a few shakes of cheese, the spinach, the parsley, and the seasonings by hand until just combined.
4. Roll or scoop into mini meatballs, about 1 inch, and space them out on the pan.
5. Bake 18 to 20-ish minutes, until no pink remains and they hit 160°F.

Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast cutlets (about 1½ to 2 lb)
• Olive oil
• Rotisserie chicken seasoning, poultry seasoning.

Method:

1. Put the cutlets on a separate sheet pan, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with seasoning.
2. Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20-ish minutes, flipping halfway, until they hit 165°F.
3. Let rest a few minutes, then slice into chunks.

Soup

Ingredients:

• Butter (enough to cover the bottom of the pot when melted)
• A few handfuls of carrots, finely chopped
• About ⅓ bunch celery, chopped (stalks plus some leaves)
• 1 onion, chopped
• Fresh parsley
• Minced garlic (the jarred kind in oil is fine)
• 4 cartons chicken broth/stock (or whatever mix you have)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced jarred garlic.
• Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder,
• 1 box (16 oz) De Cecco acini de pepe
• Fresh spinach, chopped (I get the kind in the clear box at Aldi)
• Shredded Parmesan for topping

Method:

1. Melt the butter in the soup pot. Add the carrots, celery, onion, parsley, and garlic, season well, and sauté for a bit.
2. Pour in the broth/stock and bring to a boil. (I used chicken broth, chicken stock, bone broth, and vegetable broth this time.)
3. Reduce the heat a bit and add the chicken and meatballs. Bring back to a boil.
4. Add the spinach and acini de pepe and boil about 9 minutes, or until the pasta is done.
5. Top each bowl with shredded Parmesan. Let it cool before eating.

Notes:

• The acini di pepe swells a lot in leftovers. The whole internet says to cook it separately and add it to each bowl which ensures that I will absolutely do exactly not that. You do you though.
• This is not a traditional Italian wedding soup. I’m a mostly UK-ish mutt with some German and maybe even Norwegian heritage living in southwestern PA. Don’t come at me telling me what I did wrong.
• You can use bouillon cubes, Better Than Bouillon , make your own stock, or even sneak your favorite beer into the stock. You do you.
• You can use frozen meatballs, but these are so much better. Maybe use a rotisserie chicken too? There are no rules. I support culinary anarchy.
• I feel like mushrooms may be good in this too? I don’t know why.
• Gimme your tips & tricks!