This Italian Wedding Soup recipe is Italian comfort food at it's best. You can easily freeze half of the recipe for a quick reheat meal the following week.

Italian Wedding Soup

(image credit: fabfriday.com)

Ingredients: 

1 lb Ground Turkey
4 oz Diced Prosciutto
1 cup Bread crumbs
1/3 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ tablespoon of Salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Egg

½ stick butter
¾ large onion, finely chopped
2-3 Tbps flour
14 cups of chicken broth
Parmesan Reggiano rind (optional)
½ a package of orzo.
1 head of kale, torn into pieces
1 head of spinach (or one package of frozen spinach), 
3 carrots (or twelve baby carrots), diced


Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1/3 cup of milk with 1 cup of bread crumbs and let sit. Add together ground turkey, prosciutto, oregano, salt, pepper, egg and bread crumb mixture. Lightly mix together and roll into one inch meatballs. Brush with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes on a lined baking sheet. (Note: for extra richness, or use in a pasta rather than soup, add two links of Italian sausage)


Melt ½ stick of butter in a large stock pan. Add chopped onion and cook until softened (about 6 minutes). Slowly whisk in flour to make roux and continually whisk (about 5 minutes). Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add parmesan rind.* Add Kale and carrots and cook 4 minutes. Add orzo and cook according to package instructions (usually 12 minutes or so) with 4 minutes left, add spinach and cooked meatballs.

Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese. It is a treat in our house!



* When you can’t grate a parmesan cheese any longer bag and freeze the rind to add to soups such as Italian Wedding and Minestrone. It adds a surprising boost of flavor!

Sage and Thyme Stuffin' Muffins

Stuffin' Muffins are the best of all things stuffing. When you bake your stuffing in little muffin forms everyone gets a moist center and a crunchy crispy top. Plus, it makes for an interesting presentation compared to the standard stuffing baked in a pan.

 Stuffing is something that is very easy to make but it's important to get quality ingredients to start with to get a delicious outcome.

 Sage and Thyme Stuffin' Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, diced
• 3-4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 small leek, diced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 Tbps unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme 
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock (veggie stock can be used)
• 3 eggs
• Approx 16 cups of bread cubes (I used fresh baked whole wheat and semolina), air dried overnight or baked in oven for 10 minutes on 350 to dry them out.

1). Add butter and garlic to preheated pan. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and leeks until soft over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme and stir. Remove from heat.

2). In a bowl whisk the eggs and chicken stock. Combine this mixture with the vegetables.

3). In a large bowl, add bread and pour wet mixture over bread crumbs. Be sure to evenly coat all the bread. Let it set for 5 minutes for the bread to absorb the mixture.

4). Spray muffin tins with all natural Extra Virgin Olive Oil and scoop mixture into tins.

5). Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Or until set and crispy on top.

NOTE: Makes 12 large or 18 small muffins. It's important to take the time to dice the vegetables. They blend better into the mixture when they are diced small and take less time to saute to soft. Or blend in the Vitamix (or other high speed blender).