Chicken Noodle Soup

This chicken noodle soup recipe really hits the spot on a cold day.   Its a little different from the usual chicken soup because it has chicken meatballs and for the noodles, it uses tortellini.

The meatballs are easy to make. I use a very small cookie dough scoop to form the balls. You can leave out the tortellini and use regular noodles if you like but they sure are good!

Meatball Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound ground chicken meat
1 egg or egg substitute
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 handful fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound dried cheese tortellini, store bought
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil for browning

Soup Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped finely
2 large carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces, I used small baby carrots and left them whole
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped small
1 bay leaf
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 quarts chicken broth ***
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
5 stems of the parsley for cooking in the soup
4 black peppercorns
salt if desired
Grated Parmesan, for garnish

***Lets talk about chicken broth because all chicken broth is not created equally. The broth you make at home is best for any soup including this one. But if you buy it, I suggest that you buy the low-sodium broth. That way, you can season the soup the way you like it.

Heat the oil in your soup or stock pot, add the carrots, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cook until the veggies are fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth and all other ingredients ( parsley, peppercorns, salt) bring to a boil. Let it simmer while you make the meatballs.

Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a food processor and process til the mixture is smooth and well combined. Heat a skillet on medium high heat with about 3 T olive oil. Using 2 teaspoons, scoop up a heaping spoon of meatball mixture and push it onto a plate with the other spoon. When all the meatballs are made, you can put them in the skillet of hot oil and brown them on all sides. Don’t over cook them. When they are brown, remove them to a paper towel to drain.

Bring the broth to a boil and add the tortellini or noodles, cook til they are done and then add the meatballs. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Serve the soup in big bowls and garnish each serving with chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese.