I’m sort of a fan of the whole soup and bread combo, but I recently decided to switch things up a bit from the usual soup rotation.
While I was at the store earlier this week, I happened to notice that extra lean ground beef was on sale, so I picked up a pound of it, still not quite sure what I was going to do with it. Jay’s always happy when there’s actual beef in the house, so I knew I couldn’t really lose either way.
I started browsing through some of my cookbooks and wound up coming across a recipe for a tomato type of soup…with meatballs. I mean, how fun does THAT sound?
One of the best parts about this soup is that it unbelievably easy. Once you’ve got the meatballs made, the soup will literally take you less than 15 minutes to prepare. And hey, make it even easier and use some frozen meatballs if you want! I won’t tell anyone.
Once I had the soup put together, I let it continue to simmer while I made my bread. I had actually had grand plans to make bread in the bread machine, but once again, my dough turned out like crap and I wound up tossing it before it could even start baking.
I’ll tell ya though, I think it’s true what they say…everything happens for a reason…because otherwise, I wouldn’t have put together this amazing little loaf.
Be sure to check out my post for this delicious Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Quick Bread recipe!
(I always get asked about the dishes – they’re from the Temp-Tations Collection on QVC!)
I tend to get a little nervous when I try out a new recipe, so I anxiously await Jay’s reaction to his first bite. Of course, he always has to give me the stone face to start, making me even more nervous, but after a few bites of the soup he was sold.
And he actually told me that he thinks this is now his favorite homemade soup recipe of mine. How ‘bout that?! I told him I think it’d be great with my chicken parm meatballs, so we may be trying that out sometime in the very near future.
Along with another loaf of this bread.
Especially considering the fact that between my two pieces and the rest of Jay’s, we’ve already polished off half of the loaf. (I hardly ever use this phrase, BUT…sorry I’m not sorry).
Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life
A quick and flavorful soup, perfect for weeknights! Make it even easier by using your favorite frozen meatballs, and you've got a meal ready in less than 30 minutes.
20 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
50 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
- 1 pound extra lean group beef (I used 93% lean)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 3-4 cloves roasted garlic (I had some leftover – you could also do 2 tsp minced garlic)
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) fat-free and lower sodium beef broth
- 1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup whole wheat shells (or other small pasta), uncooked
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
(lightly adapted from The Healthy Beef Cookbook
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ENJOY!
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