Soup Weather?

Oh, South Carolina. It's October 27th, and it was 80 degrees today. EIGHTY. This is so wrong on so many levels. It should be 60 degrees right now, TOPS. This 80-degree nonsense should have ended in August. But I digress.

Regardless of whether the weather is doing what I want it to, it really is soup weather. It's so easy to make healthy tweaks so that you're getting a better balanced meal, but it's warm so it's really filling and satisfying.

I found this recipe in Southern Living, and we made it last Friday night. It was a huge success. We agreed it needed less celery than called for, and it needed some herbs added. It was spicy, all right, but it didn't have a great depth of flavor. I say throw a little dried basil and thyme in there, and you'll be good to go.

It made a lot, so we had some for lunch the next day, and we probably STILL have a few meals left over. I may throw some of it in the freezer to heat up on a busy weeknight. I'll never stop searching for soups to make...so tell me, what's your favorite? If I decide to make it, I'll give you a shout-out here on the blog!

Italian Turkey Meatball Soup

Ingredients:
1 14-ounce package frozen turkey meatballs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup sliced celery
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, drained and crushed
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
7 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 6-ounce package baby spinach

Directions:
Sauté meatballs in 2 tablespoons hot oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, about 6 minutes, or until browned. Remove meatballs.
Add remaining oil and reduce heat to medium. Sauté onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes or until slightly browned.
Stir in garlic, salt and red pepper and sauté one minute.
Stir in tomatoes, beans, chicken stock and meatballs; bring to simmer over medium heat.
Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in spinach.
Eat and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living.