Meatball Minestrone Soup

• FOR THE MEATBALLS:
• 1 pound Sweet Sausage
• 1 Egg, Beaten
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley, Chopped
• Olive Oil, For Cooking
• FOR THE SOUP:
• 1 Medium-sized Carrot, Sliced Or Chopped
• 1 Medium-sized Spanish Onion, Chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, Pressed
• 1 can (28 Oz. Size) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons Thyme
• 2 teaspoons Basil
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 2 quarts Chicken Stock
• 1/2 cups Orzo (uncooked)
• 1 cup Baby Kale
• 2 cups Baby Spinach
• 1-1/2 cup White Beans
• 1 teaspoon Sugar, Or More To Taste (optional)

1. For the meatballs (you will only use half of the meatballs):
2. Put sausage into a food processor and pulse a few times to chop it up. Add egg, bread crumbs, and parsley. Pulse until everything is mixed.
3. Form into small balls (it should yield about 35 meatballs). Add a little olive oil to heavy-bottomed soup pot and brown meatballs. Once meatballs are browned, take them out of the soup pot and put them on a plate. (They'll finish cooking in the soup.)
4. For the soup:
5. Add a little more olive oil to the pot and cook carrots, onion, and garlic for about 5-7 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add tomatoes, thyme, basil, and oregano, and cook for 15 minutes, using a spatula to stir and break up tomatoes.
6. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add half the meatballs and the orzo. (Freeze the rest of the meatballs for next time.) Cook for 10-11 minutes, until orzo is ready.
7. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add baby kale, baby spinach, and white beans.
8. Note: If the tomatoes leave the soup tasting too acidic, add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar to balance it out.

meatballs, sausage, egg, bread crumbs, parsley, olive oil, carrot, onion, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, chicken, spinach, white beans, sugar

Taken from tastykitchen.com/recipes/soups/meatball-minestrone-soup/ (may not work)