Italian Stracciatella with Mini Meatballs, Tender Cheese Tortellini and Baby Spinach

I know that sounds like a long name for a dish, but it's soooo good.  Don't let the name fool you, it's really easy to make and doesn't take too much time.  With a baby and a toddler running around, I don't have loads of time to focus on making dinner!

Since it's going to be really chilly in Iowa this weekend, I recommend making this soup and let it warm and comfort you through the cold temps.  I might just make it again, even though we had it earlier this week.  We ate it with some bread sticks and cranberry cocktail, but I think it would taste phenomenal paired with a nice glass of wine!  We reheated it today for lunch, and it was just as delicious!  To add more broth to the reheated mixture, I just added a little bit more chicken broth.

Husband rating: A-!!!  And that's coming from a guy who isn't a huge fan of soup!

Italian Stracciatella with Mini Meatballs, Tender Cheese Tortellini and Baby Spinach  **with my edits!**

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 egg
• handful parsley, finely minced
• big pinch of Greek oregano {I used the Cavendar spice that I have}
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1/4 pound ground beef

Soup

• 6 cups chicken broth
• Mini tortellini {I just bought a pre-made kind at Wal-mart}
• 1 egg
• pinch sea salt
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated for topping

Directions

Meatballs

1. In a bowl, combine the egg, parsley, Greek oregano, garlic, parmesan and Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. Mix together. Add the ground pork and beef and mix for a couple of seconds more until flavors are incorporated into meat, don’t over-mix. Roll into tiny balls the size of marbles.  {I just threw them into the chicken broth as I was rolling them and added the tortellini when I was done}.

Soup

1. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a large pot. Throw in the mini meatballs and tortellini. Simmer for 8 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and sea salt. Slowly stream the egg into the pot while whisking the broth quickly with a fork to form stracciatella.
3. Place a portion of the baby spinach in a soup bowl. Pour hot soup over spinach and top with freshly grated parmesan.