14.5ouncescan Diced Tomatoes (we used fire roasted diced tomatoes)
6cupsChicken Broth
⅔cupOrzoor other small pasta
5ouncesFresh Spinach
Saltif needed
Instructions
You will also need: Cooking spray or oil for hands, baking sheet, parchment paper
Preheat 350°F
Form the Meatballs
Add the ground chicken, panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, 1 tablespoon grated onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and the egg to a large bowl.
Use a fork (or your hands) to combine the ground chicken mixture. Do not overwork the meat, mix just enough to incorporate all of the ingredients.
Lightly coat your hands with oil and form the ground chicken mixture into balls that are roughly 1 - 1½ inch in diameter.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meatballs on the pan leaving some space between them so they’re not touching. You should get about 24 meatballs.
Bake the meatballs
Bake the chicken meatballs on 350°F approximately 18-20 minutes or until fully cooked (165°F).
Start the soup while the meatballs are in the oven
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Next, add the minced garlic and oregano, and cook 1 minute while stirring.
Stir in the diced tomatoes and the chicken broth, while gently scrapping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.
Once the broth is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Keep the soup at a simmer.
Add the orzo to the soup, cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes (still on medium-low). Stir the soup occasionally to keep the orzo from sticking to the bottom.
Add the meatballs to the pot, cover and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the spinach to the pot and stir as you add it in. Continue cooking the soup for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
Taste the soup and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ½ teaspoon to our soup.
Notes
If desired, refrigerate the ground chicken mixture for a while before forming the meatballs. Also, rubbing oil on your hands a few times while forming the meatballs makes the whole process quicker and neater!We want to hold off until the end to add extra salt to this soup because the chicken broth and canned tomatoes both contain a good amount already.