Italian Wedding Soup

for meatballs:

1lb ground beef or meatloaf mix (veal/pork/beef mix)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 egg

1/3 cup jarred tomato sauce

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs

olive oil for frying

for soup:

1 large onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 ribs celery, whole

8 cups chicken stock

1 zucchini, sliced thick

1 cup mini pasta

15 oz can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 head escarole or about 1/2 bag fresh baby spinach

pecorino romano for serving.

for the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a large bowl, roll mixture into mini meatballs.

in a large stock pot add olive oil and brown meatballs in batches. set aside.

in the same pot add onion and garlic to pan drippings and sautee until onion is translucent. add stock, celery and Italian seasoning and bring to a boil, reduce heat and add pasta, cook 10 minutes, then add meatballs, zucchini and beans, cook until zucchini is cooked but not mushy. Before serving add spinach or escarole until wilted but still bright green. Remove celery before serving. Finish with cheese.

Sourdough Pretzel Stuffing

13.5 ounce box sourdough pretzels, crushed

6 ounce bag dried apricots, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 stick butter, melted

4 eggs

1/2 cup pecans, chopped plus more halves for topping (optional)

1 tsp dried ground sage

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 14.5 ounce cans chicken stock

1 tsp salt

baking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients except for chicken stock. Add 1 can of stock and mix through. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, then add additional stock slowly until mixture is soft and wet, but there is no liquid remaining. Divide into 18 muffin cups sprayed with baking spray. Top each muffin with a pecan.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Makes 18 stuffing muffins.