Meatball Ingredients:

1 1/3 pound ground beef
1/2 cup processed bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 egg
2 T fresh parsley chopped (or 1 t dried)
2 t dried garlic
1 t dried onion powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t cracked black pepper

Soup Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 T fresh garlic, minced
4 cups beef stock.
1 (28 oz) can Cento Italian plum tomatoes, hand squished
1 cup water
1 T dried basil
1 t dry  oregano
1 t sugar
1/2 t cracked black pepper
1/2 t Tabasco sauce
12 oz cut green beans
1 meatball recipe from above
1/2 cup acini di pepe or other teensy tiny soup pasta

Spoon Mage™ Note:

Meatballs for soup are a little firmer than my meatballs for pasta. This is so they do not fall apart in the cooking. If you want them a little more tender, add a bit of milk to the meatball mix.

I use Tabasco instead of salt. It does the same thing salt does – accent the flavors, but without all the salty taste. If you use salt instead of Tabasco, be careful of the quantity. Add a little at a time.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Mix beef, bread crumbs, egg, Parmesan, parsley, oregano, garlic and black pepper thoroughly and shape into tiny walnut sized meatballs.

Bake in a large pan sprayed with your favorite non-stick spray for about 25 minutes or until they are browned a bit on the bottom. Set aside.

In a large pot set over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil until the onion is transparent.

Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Add stock, tomatoes, water, basil, oregano, sugar, black pepper, and Tabasco.

Bring to a boil and simmer covered 10 minutes.

Add green beans and simmer covered five more minutes.

Stir in the pasta and meatballs and simmer covered at least 15 more minutes until the pasta is done and plumped up. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Keep on a low simmer until dinner or serve immediately.

The longer the soup sets as leftovers in the fridge, the more of the liquid is soaked up by the pasta. To reheat, you may wish to add more stock or water… or just eat it as a meatball stew!