Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

As promised, here is another way you can use the Italian Sauce I posted yesterday.  I made a homemade pizza and since we will only eat one pizza (my sauce recipe tops two) I had quite a bit of leftover sauce.  I scanned my kitchen to see what else I had on hand.  I had ground beef, breadcrumbs, noodles, a Parmesan rind...  Spaghetti soup!  My kids love soup and they love spaghetti, so this seemed like a win win.  This was a HUGE hit!  The kids LOVED it and I must admit, I did too.  Even my husband who is not a big fan of noodles (something about childhood worm comparisons) said it was good.  I highly recommend this if you want a twist on the same old spaghetti night.  If your kids are adventurous, top each bowl with a cheesy garlic bread round.  Oh how I wish MY kids were adventurous...

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

Ingredients
1/2 Italian Sauce recipe
6 c. chicken broth
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 egg
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. breadcrumbs (see how to make your own here)
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-16 oz. box short noodles (They are spaghetti noodles that are about 1-1/2" long.  If you can't find them, break your own)


Directions

Here is my sauce that was leftover after I made my pizza.  I would say it was about 1-1/2 cups.

Pour it into a pot

and whisk in the chicken broth, you can add more or less than I did, depending on how tomatoey (it's a word, look it up) you want your broth.

If you have not discovered the beautiful things a Parmesan rind can do for you, now is the time.  Toss the rind into your broth and heat everything up over medium heat.  Once it begins to simmer, turn it down to low and let it work (it will become soft and seep it's wonderful flavor into the broth) while you make the meatballs.

Mix together the beef, egg, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, and breadcrumbs.  Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering.

While the oil is getting hot, roll your meatballs.  I used teaspoonfuls of meat to make mine because I wanted them bite sized, but that is up to you.

Once the oil is hot, add in half the meatballs

and brown all over.

When they are done put them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Repeat with the other half of the meatballs.

When all the balls (I tried to avoid saying it, but somehow it happened) are browned and drained, add them to your soup and simmer until the meaty flavors have made the soup rich and beefy.  It took mine about 30 minutes.  You can cook the noodles directly in the soup, but I was worried they would soak up all my yummy broth, so I cooked mine separately and then let my people get the amount of noodles they wanted in their bowl and top it with the soup.  Sprinkle on extra Parmesan and minced basil to make it extra fantastic!