Title: Meatball Minestrone
Categories: Soup Meat
Yield: 6 Servings
| MEATBALLS |
| 1 | lb | Hamburger |
| 1/2 | lb | Sweet Italian sausage |
| 1/2 | c | Bread crumbs |
| 1/2 | ts | Salt |
| 1/2 | ts | Black pepper |
| 1 | | Box (10 1/2-oz) frozen spinach thawed & well drained (squeez |
| | | Oil for browning |
| 1 | | Egg |
| SOUP |
| 7 | c | Water |
| 1 | cn | (15 oz) kidney bean w/juice |
| 1 | lg | Can (4 c ) tomatoes |
| 1/2 | ts | Oregano |
| 1/2 | ts | Basil |
| 2 | | Stalks celery |
| 2 | lg | Carrots, peeled and slice |
| 2 | c | Mostaccioli uncooked pasta |
| | | Freshly grated parmesan cheese |
| 7 | c | Beef buillon (or 7 cups well-seasoned beef stock for water a |
To make the meatballs, combine the hamburger and sausage. Add the bread
crumbs, salt and pepper, the spinach and egg. Mix thoroughly and form into
large meatballs. Saute in a little oil until browned on all sides. Set
aside.
For soup, bring the water, bouillon cubes, kidney beans, tomatoes,
oregano and basil to a slow boil, mashing the tomatoes with the back of a
wooden spoon. Simmer 10 minutes and add the celery and carrots. Bring back
to a boil and simmer 10 more minutes. The add the mostaccioli and meatballs
and boil another 10 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes (pasta will absorb a lot
of the liquid). Serve with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, a salad and
hearty bread, such as the cabbage patch bread.