Veggie Meatball Soup

Veggie Meatball Soup

I just found out that January is considered the official soup month. Had I known, I could have posted about 5 other soup recipes I made already this month. Here's a recipe my daughter sent to me and it is excellent!!!

Ingredients:

25 frozen, cooked Italian meatballs (1/2 ounces each) - I made mine fresh, recipe below*

1 can (28 oz) dices tomatoes, undrained

3 cups beef broth

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 cup fresh geen beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup water

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup uncooked pasta (your favorite small soup pasta. I used Farfalle.)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the first 14 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours or until vegetables are almost tender.

Stir in the pasta and parsley; cook 30 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (2 1/2 quarts).

*To make fresh meatballs, I mixed 12 1/2 oz of ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Roll into 25 mini meatballs. Brown in frying pan for 15 minutes.