Italian Wedding Soup

Inspired by a recipe on the side of a pasta box. ☺️

Ingredients

-168g (or 1/2 of a 12oz box) acini di pepe pasta (I used the Kroger one with the awesome recipe on the back), 600kcal

-1/2 medium to large onion (~150g), ~60kcal

-1 jumbo carrot (~250g), ~100kcal

-1 large celery stalk (~100g), ~15kcal

-1lb 96% lean ground chicken with Italian seasoning (I used Isernio's), 560kcal

-1 32oz container low sodium chicken broth (I used Simple Truth), 20kcal

-1/3 or 1/2 10oz bag baby spinach (let's be real, 3 big handfuls), ~40kcal

-Cooking spray

-Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, cumin, whatever you like)

Instructions

1. Chop up onion (small cubes), carrots (slightly larger cubes), and celery (half moons).

2. Coat a deep pan with cooking spray and saute the above veggies until onions start to brown.

3. Meanwhile, empty broth into a pot, set it on high to medium heat to get hot (gentle boil), and add spices.

4. Once onions are brown, add a splash of water to the pan (about 1/4 cup) and cover so the vegetables steam and start to get soft.

5. Once the water evaporates (slightly before that even because you don't want to burn your pan), transfer the vegetables into the broth (beware of hot splashing, ouch) so they can continue to soften.

6. As the vegetables boil in the broth, add the ground chicken into the once vegetable pan, and brown the meat so it is fully cooked.

7. Transfer the cooked chicken and the delightful juices it produces into the broth and stir (again, don't burn yourself, ouch).

8. Add pasta and spinach (more veggies, yay!) to soup, cover, and let cook for about 5-8 minutes, or until the pasta is soft and spinach wilted.

9. Remove soup from heat, serve, and store. Garnish if desired.

Nutrition Summary (per serving)

4 servings: 340kcal, 32g protein, 34g carbs, 6g fat

5 servings: 270kcal, 25g protein, 27g carbs, 5g fat

6 servings: 225kcal, 21g protein, 23g carbs, 4g fat