Vegetable & Chicken Meatball Soup

Vegetable & Chicken Meatball Soup

Don’t skip cooking the onions for the meatballs. This step softens the onions so they more easily distribute their sweet flavor to the meatballs. A slow cooker meatball soup only requires 25 minutes of hands-on time.

Prep Time: 25 mins Active Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 55 mins Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (from 1 onion slices)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced (about 5 teaspoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup diced zucchini (from 1 zucchini)
• 1 cup chopped celery (from 1 carrot)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces unsalted chicken stock
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup ground panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)

Preparation

• Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Remove 1/2 cup of the cooked onion mixture and place in a medium bowl aside. Transfer the remaining onion mixture to the slow cooker.

• Add the beans, celery and carrot to the slow cooker.

• Form the mixture into 16 meatballs and place on a baking sheet. Using a spoon, transfer the meatballs into the slow cooker.

• Carefully stir the meatballs into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH until the meatballs are cooked, about 2 hours without stirring. Garnish with parsley and 1 teaspoon oregano. Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve hot.