Bonnies Italian Meatball Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• For the meatballs:
• Pour the milk over bread and soak to soften.
• Place the meat in a mixing bowl and add the cheese, EVOO, fennel, crushed red pepper, garlic, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and crumble into crumbs as you add it to the meat. Combine the meatball mix and roll into 2-inch balls. Place the meatballs on nonstick baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray and roast until browned but not fully cooked, 10 to 12 minutes.
• For the stew:
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions and bay, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and stir until fragrant. Add the beef stock and tomatoes, then break up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add the basil, potatoes and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat back to medium, partially cover and cook 10 minutes. Add the green beans and cook 7 to 8 minutes more.
• Serve, or cool completely and store for make-ahead meal. Reheat over a medium-low flame, partially covered, stirring occasionally (or reheat in a 325 degree F oven) until sauce is bubbly.
• To serve, top shallow bowls of stew with cheese and an extra drizzle of EVOO.

Steps:

• Pour water into a large stockpot over high heat. Stir in 3 cups tomato sauce, yellow onion, chicken bouillon, garlic, and 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Bring broth to a slow boil.
• Combine ground beef, eggs, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, white rice, 1/4 cup cilantro, seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cumin in a large bowl. Squeeze mixture with your hands until thoroughly mixed.
• Scoop 1/4 cup of beef mixture and form in a ball. Lower gently into boiling broth. Repeat with remaining beef mixture.
• Stir potatoes, carrots, and celery into the broth. Cover and simmer until meatballs and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cabbage. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with avocado and 1/4 cup cilantro.

Steps:

• 1. Meatballs 101, Cook's Advice: Use a gentle hand when it comes to making meatballs. If you over mix them, they will be tough. For the most tender meatballs, mix the meat with the binder of milk and breadcrumbs and other ingredients just until everything is combined. Use a scoop to measure meatballs the same size. When making balls, don't pack them together too tightly, or they will cook up tough, rubbery, and chewy. Again, use a gentle hand when mixing and forming meatballs.
• 2. Lightly mix the meats, spices, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and cheese together.
• 3. Mix breadcrumbs with the milk. Add beaten eggs to the meat mixture.
• 4. Lightly mix by hand.
• 5. Forming the Meatballs: Using a 1 ½ inch or 2 inch scoop, make meatballs by scooping the mixture into your hand and gently forming a ball without packing the meat mixture.
• 6. Place the meatballs on the prepared pan.
• 7. Cooking the Meatballs: You can brown the meatballs on all sides in a heavy skillet, or you can use this oven method: Take a large sheet pan and line it with foil (reflective side up and they won't stick) and spray the pan with kitchen spray. Bake in a 375 oven about 30 minutes until the thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Do NOT overcook. Remember, some oven temps may vary.
• 8. These meatballs are delicious in soups or sauces. They don't fall apart.

Steps:

• Stir water, tomatoes, beef broth, and Italian seasoning together in a large pot; bring to a boil. Add meatballs, Italian-blend vegetables, and pasta to the pot. Return broth to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the meatballs are heated through and the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Steps:

• To make the meatballs, add the ground beef, grated Parmesan, 3 tablespoons of the parsley, the lemon juice, ground oregano, garlic, egg, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper to a bowl and mix together well. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.
• In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning to brown all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. No need to cook them all the way as they'll go back into the soup later. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Now, grab some beef stock and pour it into a pot. Add some salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste--it adds so much yummy richness. Make a bouquet garni by adding the peppercorns, bay leaves and remaining 1/4 cup parsley to a piece of cheesecloth and tying it into a bundle using kitchen twine; drop it right into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove the bouquet garni, which now resembles a jellyfish with jaundice. Go ahead and discard it; it's lived a full life. Add the diced potatoes, carrots, celery and onions and the sliced cabbage. Finally, in go the browned meatballs. Let the soup simmer long enough for the vegetables to get slightly tender and the meatballs to cook all the way through, another 20 minutes or so.
• You can sprinkle the soup with some freshly grated Parmesan if you'd like one last dose of decadence. Serve with crusty bread.

Steps:

• MAKE SOUP: IN A 5 QT. KETTLE, ADD OLIVE OIL AND HEAT OIL FOR 2 OR SO SECONDS, THEN ADD THE GARLIC AND THE TOMATO PASTE. LET COOK TO WELL BLENDED. THEN ADD CRUSHED TOMATOES, WHOLE TOMATOES, WHITE WINE, CHICKEN STOCK AND THEN LET IT COME TO A BOIL. ONCE IT COME TO A BOIL YOU THEN ADD ALL THE SEASONINGS. NOW LOWER THE HEAT TO A LOW TO SIMMER, AND LET COOK . MAKE MEATBALLS WHILE SOUP IS SIMMERING. MAKE MEATBALLS: IN A EXTRA LARGE BOWL ADD ALL INGREDIENTS. NOW WITH VERY GOOD WASHED HANDS, MIX THE MIXTURE UNTIL VERY WELL BLENDED. THEN TAKE A LARGE MELON BALLER TO FORM THE MEATBALLS. THAT WILL MAKE SURE THE SAME SIZE OF ALL OF THEM. WET YOUR HANDS WITH WATER AND THAT WILL HELP TO FORM THE MEATBALLS FASTER FOR YOU AND NOT STICK TO YOUR HANDS. ONCE THE MEATBALLS ARE ALL ROLLED OUT YOU THEN DROP THEM ONE BY ONE INTO THE SOUP POT. NOW YOU WILL PUT A COVER ON THE POT, SO AS TO, COOK THE MEATBALLS. COOK FOR ANOTHER 45 MINUTES. ONCE YOU HAVE COOK THE SOUP FOR 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES THE SOUP IS DONE OR WHEN A FORK IN THE CENTER OF THE MEATBALL COMES OUT CLEAN. ENJOY!! MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS OR FOR A CROWD!