Italian Wedding Soup or Meatball Soup

I'm not sure if I've told you about my Italian grandmother? Anyway, she was a fabulous cook. I loved her homemade macaroni & cheese, cheesecake, potato salad and anything Italian. As Italian as she was, she hated garlic. I always thought that was strange. I, on the other hand, love garlic and use it everywhere, especially in my Italian wedding soup. My dad says Grandma made a soup similar to this (minus the garlic) and that she'd be proud (minus the garlic).

What you need:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• ½  teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon GARLIC powder
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup dry pasta (I used tortellini)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• ½ cup diced yellow squash (or zucchini)
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• 1 clove minced GARLIC

What you do:

Combine first seven ingredients and shape into small ¾ inch balls. Set meatballs aside.

In a large pot, heat chicken broth until it boils. Stir in spinach, pasta, carrots, squash, tomatoes, garlic and meatballs.

Return soup to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Allow the soup to slowly boil for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is done and the meatballs are no longer pink inside. 

Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, if you're into that kind of thing.