Big Weather's Big Recipe: Italian Wedding Soup

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- When I first moved to central Pennsylvania, it was a long way from home for this Iowa farm boy. And one of the cultures, and foods, I was exposed to was Italian. So many new tastes! One of my faves was Italian Wedding Soup. With the cold weather rolling in, I thought I would share this cold weather recipe given to me by a viewer almost 25 years ago!

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground beef, 93/7

1/2 pound mild Italian sausage

2 eggs

4 T of plain bread crumbs

1 t of dried basil

1 t of onion powder

7 Cups of chicken broth

3 Cups of beef broth

4 cups finely chopped kale

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1 box of Orzo pasta

1 T of better than bouillon

1 T unsalted butter

Preparation

1. In a mixing bowl add beef, sausage, eggs, bread crumbs, basil, and onion powder.

2. Thoroughly mix together, then form 1/2 inch balls

3. Bring Chicken and Beef broth to a boil

4. Chop Kale and add to the broth

5. Add the carrots to broth

6. Slowly add the meat balls, careful not to drop and splash

7. Let return to rolling boil then turn heat to medium and simmer for, at least, 10 minutes

8. In a separate pot, boil water.

9. Add better than bouillon to the water, then add Orzo and cook for 7 minutes

10. Drain Orzo, and add a tablespoon of butter and mix together to keep pasta from sticking

11. Add pasta to bowl and cover with soup.

12. Enjoy!

This is the recipe I use and I know there are lots of variations. You could add onions. Or switch out the kale for escarole or spinach. If you don't like sausage, make your meatballs all beef.

And the reason I keep the Orzo separate is, even after it's all cooked, it will still stuck-up all the soup. If you put this in the fridge overnight, there won't be much liquid left in the morning. And this soup is even better reheated, so just make some more pasta. Whatever you choose, good luck and good eating!