What do ya do when you have a half package of frozen Italian meatballs and a half package of fresh spinach leaves in your fridge?  You make Italian Meatball Soup of course!  How I ended up with only a half of a package of meatballs I can’t recall and the sad part is that they haven’t been in the freezer but just a few weeks.  Beats me, not going to spend much time dwelling on that one.  The spinach is easy peasy–mix with a little Romaine for your week night salads and you end up with a partial package, simple.

Here is a soup that will come together in a snap and is delicious on its own with crusty bread or served with a salad.

Ingredients: (These are portions you would use if you had a full size of meatballs and spinach)

1 quart jar of chicken stock

1 26 oz pkg frozen Italian style meatballs

1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans

1 15 oz can diced new potatoes

1 6 oz pkg fresh spinach leaves

1 t garlic salt

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t ground oregano

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c heavy cream

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil in a large pot.  Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  I used my own chicken stock I had in the freezer.  If I use store bought, I like Kitchen Basics 32 oz, much better than plain chicken broth.  Here is the brand of meatballs I used, got them at Walmart.

While the soup is simmering, chop the spinach and add to pot.  Next blend in your garlic salt, pepper and oregano.  If I had plenty of time and had my druthers, I would saute some minced fresh garlic instead of using garlic salt but, hey, we are talking quick and easy here.  If you only have oregano leaves, simply take the 1/2 teaspoon and grind it with your fingers to release the extra flavor.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.  Stir in the cream and cheese.  I used half and half instead of heavy cream but every creamy soup recipe I have seen calls for heavy cream so I just threw that in to blend in with the other souper recipes.  Get it? Souper? Super?  Nevermind.

Hope you like it! Me and Randy sure did!  There are still 2 servings left so Jake hasn’t gotten to sample any of the leftovers yet.  I’ll post his review later.