Italian Wedding Soup

It's official, we have a wedding date! Last week we secured our reception venue and a church. We were able to put two huge check marks on the wedding to-do list which was such a great feeling. In celebration, I decided to make Italian Wedding Soup, it just seemed fitting. I love this recipe for Italian Wedding Soup. This soup is full of vegetables and the meatballs add so much flavor. The recipe makes a big pot of soup so it will cover a couple of dinners and lunches.

** A word to the wise, the meatballs are delicious so I recommend throwing a handful of the them in the freezer to use for a last minute spaghetti dinner.

Italian Wedding Soup
Makes 8-10 servings

1 rotisserie chicken, chicken removed and shredded
6 cups chicken broth
15-20 medium sized meatballs (recipe listed below)
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
salt and pepper to taste
parsley
1 bag of spinach or escarole
fresh Paremsan or Romano cheese, grated

In a large soup pot, combine the broth, carrots, celery, and onion.Bring to a boil. Add the shredded chicken and whole wheat orzo pasta. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Add the meatballs and the spinach. Simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Easy Italian Meatballs
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 T. chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. fennel seed

Preheat the oven to 375. Place the beef in a large bowl and add the bread crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, but lightly, with your hands. Form the mixture into 15-20 medium sized meatballs. Put on a shallow baking sheet covered with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.

Panko Parmesan Tilapia

I came up with the below recipe for panko parmesan tilapia earlier this week and I have honestly had it for dinner 3 of the 4 nights this week. I'm always a little unsure about frozen fish but I tried the frozen tilapia from Trader Joe's for the first time and thought it tasted great, plus it's cheap and easy to defrost at the last minute for a quick weeknight meal. I served the tilapia with asparagus that I roasted on the same pan as the fish. I just tossed the asparagus in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then roasted it for 10 minutes. I pulled out the pan, added the fish and then cooked an addition 10-12 minutes. Dinner in 20 minutes and one pan, can't get much easier than that!

Panko Parmesan Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets
1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
dash of salt and pepper
dash of oregano
dash of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, combine the panko, Parmesan, and seasonings.

Cover a baking sheet with foil sprayed with cooking spray. Place the tilapia fillets on the baking sheet and then cover with the panko mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until flaky.