Italian Wedding Soup (with the help of a slow cooker)

This is so delicious!  My slow cooker came to the rescue, as I wanted to make the meatballs either the night before or early in the morning.   Another plus for the slow cooker is that you eliminate the step of sauteing the carrots, onions, and celery.  I made the meatballs early in the morning, baking and then refrigerating them until an hour prior to serving the soup.   An hour or so prior to serving, I added the meatballs, spinach and pasta to the broth mixture in the slow cooker so that the spinach wilted, pasta cooked until al dente, and meatballs warmed.This is delicious served with cheesy olive bread!

For the Meatballs:

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage

1 large egg

½ cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

·         In large bowl, combine meatball ingredients and shape into 1 to 1/1/4-inch meatballs (about a teaspoon each; you will have about 40-50 meatballs.)

·         Place meatballs on sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Refrigerate until time to add them to the slow cooker, an hour or so prior to serving.

For the Soup:

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups chicken broth

4 cups beef broth

½ cup dry white wine

½ - ¾ cup finely chopped carrots

½ - ¾ cup finely chopped celery

1 small onion, chopped

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

½ cup ditilini pasta

DIRECTIONS:

·         Combine everything except spinach and pasta in slow cooker

·         Cook on low for 5 to 8 hours

·         An hour prior to serving, add the meatballs, spinach and pasta and continue to cook on low

·         Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary

·         Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.