Italian Wedding Soup Supper

Wow. Didn't realize how unattractive it looked. It's ok though. The taste wins. I promise.

I subscribe to Taste Of Home magazine and have for years. I love it. I get inspiration for yummy down home cooking quite often. I love the recipes! SO... ask me how many recipes I have actually tried from the pages I have read. Ok, I will spill it. 2. Yes, 2. Or thereabouts. I am more of a collector than a do-er. Though I have been looking for recipes to use up a stockpile of frozen spinach that I had on hand so this recipe caught my eye. Guess what?! It was wonderful! I am so glad too! I love a good soup recipe. And it happened to be a rainy cold day so it fit the bill even better! I will share it with you, just in case you find yourself in the same predicament as I was. OR you like good soup. Whatever. Just give it a shot! I promise you will be as surprised as I was.

Italian Wedding Soup Supper (I doubled most of the recipe. But I added 3 times the chicken broth to make it soupier.)

2 cups small pasta shells
1/2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used the canned chicken from Costco)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 pkg. frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1, 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (recipe didn't call for this but I added it and I am glad I did. added good flavor)
1/2 tsp. dried basil (recipe didn't call for this either but, well, you know. I like to be all crazy sometimes...)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese (we skipped the cheese altogether and didn't miss it.)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook chicken in 1 tbsp. oil, until no longer pink. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion, carrot and celery in remaining oil until tender. Add the meatballs, soup, spinach, broth, seasonings and chicken.  Cover and cook for 4-6 minutes or until heated through. Drain pasta, stir into skillet. Sprinkle with cheese, if you choose to use it.