Meatball Soup: Blueprint for Happiness

The winter cold season has arrived at my door and my poor husband has a bad case of the sniffles.  When he is not coughing, he is blowing his nose.  At times, it almost sounds like he is doing his own coughing/sneezing rendition of Happy Birthday.  All in all, the guy is in pretty bad shape.  Short of taking him out back and shooting him, the only other thing I can think of to make him feel better is to make him a pot of soup.

Whenever I feel under the weather, all I want is a nice, hot bowl of soup but not just any old soup.  I need a soup with restorative powers.  Something that is hearty and filling but simple and tasty.  If you are in the same boat, you will surely enjoy my recipe for meatball soup.

This recipe was originally give to me by my friend, Miwa.  But over the years, I have tweaked it and massaged it and now it only faintly resembles Miwa's recipe.  I used the original as a blueprint and made the recipe my own.

Meatball Soup
Meatballs:
1lb ground beef
1 c rice (or medium bulgar wheat)
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
1 egg
3 tbsp parsley, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

Soup:
2 containers of 32oz beef broths
1/2 medium chopped coarsely
1 29oz crush tomato
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1 c. sliced cabbage
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables

Mix together meatball ingredients and roll into walnut size meatballs.  Set aside.

For the soup, saute onions in a small amount of oil in a stockpot.  When onions begin to caramelize, add broth and crushed tomato.  When mixture boils, gently add meatballs into soup one at a time.  Bring soup to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Skim foamy layer from broth and discard.  Add carrots and cabbage to soup and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add frozen vegetables, stir and simmer for 10 minutes.  Season to taste and enjoy!

The leftovers after my hubby and I each had two bowls.

Note:  The meatballs in this recipe are like little pillows of goody goodness, super tender.  If you like your meatballs with more of a chewy texture, reduce the rice or bulgar to 1/2 to 3/4 cups.

Why yes, that is the Chester P. Basil Country ladle loving up on those meatballs! 

This recipe really lends itself to modification.  You can substitute the beef for turkey or pork and the veggies can be tailored to your own specifications.  In short, this recipe is just a suggestion of measurements and ingredients.  This is your baby, go nuts!