By far, the hit of the launch party was my Italian Wedding Soup, and I shamelessly accepted compliment after compliment on its full-bodied texture and home-made taste, even though it is ridiculously easy to make. So, since it was so popular, and everyone raved about it, I thought I'd use this blog post to give you the recipe, even though it will expose me as a fraud and not the Ina Garten everyone thought me to be.
INGREDIENTS:
Swanson's Chicken Broth
Swanson's Chicken Stock
Shredded Carrotts
Spring Onions
Celery
Kraft Three Cheese Shake Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Earth's Best Mini Beef Meatballs For Kids
San Giorgio Acini di Pepe
Spinach
Shredded Parmesan and Romano Cheese
Combine two boxes of Swanson's Chicken Broth and two boxes of Swanson's Chicken Stock in a large pot. Use the high-test stuff, not the light or low-salt versions.
Dice two handfuls of shredded carrots and add them to the stock.. You can get the carrots already shredded at the grocery store and save yourself a ton of work.
Add one bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced, but not diced. Be sure to use spring onions instead of any kind of regular onion, which will overwhelm the delicate broth.
Add a half dozen stalks of celery, sliced medium. You don't want the slices to be too thin because they will disintegrate in the soup. And you don't want them to be so thick that they're noticeable. Also add all of the celery leaves, as these add a ton of flavor.
Add two heaping tablespoons of Kraft Three Cheese Shake Cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Go light on the pepper.
Add one 14 ounce bag of Earth's Best Mini Beef Meatballs for Kids. If you like a lot of meatballs, add half of a second bag. These do not have to be defrosted first.
Bring the soup to a rapid boil, then turn down the heat and simmer.
While the soup is cooking, make the Acini di Pepe according to the instructions on the box. Do not overcook them. You'll want them al dente because they'll soften up when you add them to the broth.
When the Acini de Pepi is done, drain and rinse with cold water. Add about half of the noodles to the broth and refrigerate the rest. Go easy with the noodles. If you put in too many, it will absorb all of the broth. You can always add more if you need to, but if you add too many at once, you'll end up with a potful of mushy noodles instead of soup.
Just before you're ready to serve the soup, add a couple of handfuls of thoroughly washed baby spinach and stir. Again, go easy with the spinach. If you put in too much, it will turn your soup green.
Top with a sprinkling of high-quality shredded parmesan and romano cheese. In this case, high-quality means expensive. Serve with a hard, crusty roll and a salad packed with olives, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, shredded carrots and green peppers and tossed in an Italian dressing.
Heaven!