Italian Wedding Soup

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUP

1 pound TVF boneless chicken thighs (or breasts or tenders if you like white meat)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

3 large celery stalks, chopped

2 large garlic gloves, minced

salt/pepper

2 quarts TVF chicken bone broth

3 cups packed greens, chopped (escarole, spinach, etc)

FOR THE MEATBALLS

8 oz TVF ground beef

8 oz TVF ground pork

1 TVF egg

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

olive oil for frying meatballs

small pasta (ancini de pepe, orzo, or ditalini)...optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the meatballs.  Crack egg in large bowl and beat with fork.  Add meats, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese.  Mix until fully incorporated but be careful to not overmix.  Coat hands lightly with olive oil and form small meatballs with one heaping teaspoon of meatball mix.   Transfer to plate.  Makes about 80 meatballs.
2. Make the soup.  If using thighs, remove skin.  Cut chicken into bite size chunks. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat large dutch oven on stove and add olive oil.  Cook chicken until no longer pink inside and remove from dutch oven.  
3. Add more oil and then fry the meatballs in batches until browned all over.  Remove meatballs from dutch oven.
4. Add more oil to the dutch oven and add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender (5-8min).  Add garlic and cook for additional 2 minutes.
5. Return the meatballs and cooked chicken to the pot and add the broth.  Simmer for 20 minutes to incorporate flavors.  Add greens at the very end and cook until just wilted.
6. Make pasta in separate pot and only add to bowl of hot soup when serving.  This will allow you to save the soup and even freeze it without the pasta getting mushy.