Turkey Meatball and Orzo Soup

I think at our house we're all taking turns with the same cold. As soon as we feel like the cold has been banished for good, one of us brings home another beast to share. It's kind of disheartening, especially when I want to go out for my run in the beautiful Fall weather, and my lungs retaliate with a heavy cough. Days of training down the drain.

I thought maybe we were really good at sharing this cold because my house wasn't disinfected enough. *gasp*  I'm actually kind of obsessive about that one. Ever seen Monk? Sometimes it's kind of like that.

Thankfully, a steaming hot bowl of soup warms the soul like nothing else, and forces our colds to hide their fangs for a while. The Manchild has also figured out how to eat orzo without me having to redecorate and re-carpet the dining room. Ryan didn't even notice the meat was ground turkey until he was halfway through his first bowl - (again, if it's not straight up steak or ground beef, it's not 'man food' to him). Nonetheless, he really loved this soup and had a couple helpings.

Making the meatballs was really fun - I've made meatballs several times before. But this time it wasn't your usual roll-the-meat-together-and-turn-'em-around-in-a-pan type of cooking. For this recipe, you prepare your veggies and broth first. Then with the broth comes to a rolling boil, you drop the raw homemade turkey balls right into the steaming liquid heaven! The broth is so hot that the turkey balls drop down pink, and come up brown. I was worried they'd fall apart the second I threw them in the broth, but they held their shape, and soaked in all the beautiful flavors I developed beforehand.

Later, after the meatballs are cooked through, you throw in the orzo. Oh, how I adore orzo! Next time, I'm going to have double this recipe, for sure...

... and find a way to take pictures of meatballs without them looking sketchy.

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Turkey Meatball and Orzo Soup

Ingredients:
1 T EVOO
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 
6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) chicken stock
1/2 lb ground chicken/turkey breast
3 T Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 T Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1 garlic clove, grated
2 T chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 C orzo

Directions:
1. Heat the EVOO in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and carrots for 5 minutes, then adds stock and bring to a boil.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the meat with the cheese, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. If the mixture is too moist, add a few more bread crumbs.
3. When the broth comes to a boil, roll the meat mixture into the 1-inch balls and drop them into the broth. Continue to boil until meat is cooked through (if you're nervous, grab your meat thermometer). Stir in the orzo and cook for 7 minutes, al dente.

Recipe source: Rachael Ray Yum-O; The Family Cookbook