8.24.2011

Italian Wedding Soup - Watch Out East Side Marios!

Have you ever tried the Italian Wedding Soup from East Side Marios? I have. I love it. It completes me :) It is a simple soup with meatballs and tiny pasta that just makes my taste buds sing and dance!! I loved it so much that I immediately went about trying recipes to find one that I could make from home and still love as much as if it came right from the restaurant. Sure enough..I found a recipe that I loved, tweaked it to my liking, and now I'm sharing it with YOU! You will NOT be disappointed :)

First, we'll make those delightful little meatballs that put this soup over the top!

Italian meatballs:
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat - just toss a piece of bread into a food processor)
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

In medium bowl, combine beef to onion and shape into small meatballs. I make them pretty small - about an inch around. You want them small enough to easily eat in a spoonful of soup. Bake 350 for 20 minutes or so. We'll be boiling these in with the soup as well, but we want them mostly cooked through so they will hold together. I usually double the meatball recipe and freeze half to put over spaghetti on another night.

Soup
6 cups chicken broth
2 cup spinach, chopped (I use frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
1 cup dry small pasta like orzo or other tiny noodles
¾ cup diced carrots (opt. - but I like them in there)
prepared meatballs
dash of onion and garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

In large stockpot, heat broth to boiling and stir in everything else, except pasta. Cook pasta separately and add in at the end. Simmer soup for 30 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

I absolutely ADORE this soup, and so do my kids. If they only knew how much spinach they were getting with each mouthful...Mwa ha ha ha ha! Oh, I love sneaking healthy tidbits in delicious meals. HA! Give this a try and let me know if you like it!



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7 comments:

Amy said...

Looks good! Can't wait to try it this winter when I need something to warm me up!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE east side marios soup.. I'm trying this tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Absolutely love this soup and have made it several times. So delicious!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! I am just making the meatballs, and they smell phenominal! A delicious soup! Thx!

Unknown said...

I absolutely love this recipe!!! Our only East Side Marios closed down a while ago and when I crave that delicious Italian Wedding soup, I'm out of luck. Until now that is!! I've made this recipe more times than I can count And have turned a tonne of my friends onto it as well!! It's cheap and super quick to make and hits the spot everytime! Over the months making it I have adapted it a bit to make it even easier and quicker.

Instead of making the meatballs from scratch and cooking them separately, I instead just use mild or hot Italian sausages removed from Their casings. I then roll the already seasoned meat into tiny bite sized meatballs and drop them right into the boiling broth. They not only cook up in minutes but they also infuse the broth with those Italian flavours as they cook (and not to Mention saving more dishes by cooking them straight in the pot).

Either way this recipe is genius and thank you thank you thank you for posting this!!!!! Delicious!

Unknown said...

I absolutely love this recipe!!! Our only East Side Marios closed down a while ago and when I crave that delicious Italian Wedding soup, I'm out of luck. Until now that is!! I've made this recipe more times than I can count And have turned a tonne of my friends onto it as well!! It's cheap and super quick to make and hits the spot everytime! Over the months making it I have adapted it a bit to make it even easier and quicker.

Instead of making the meatballs from scratch and cooking them separately, I instead just use mild or hot Italian sausages removed from Their casings. I then roll the already seasoned meat into tiny bite sized meatballs and drop them right into the boiling broth. They not only cook up in minutes but they also infuse the broth with those Italian flavours as they cook (and not to Mention saving more dishes by cooking them straight in the pot).

Either way this recipe is genius and thank you thank you thank you for posting this!!!!! Delicious!

Itworksforbobbi said...

What a great tip! I'll have to try that next time 😃