Chicken Meatball Soup

Whenever I think of comfort food, chicken noodle soup immediately comes to mind. It soothes a sore throat and warms a person up on a cool day. It's just comfort in a bowl, ya know?

And while I do make pretty good chicken noodle soup, it gets a little routine at times. This yummy soup recipe is a great alternative to traditional chicken noodle soup. It's got a burst of flavor from the dill and uses small pasta instead of noodles. My family couldn't get enough of it.

My recipe inspiration came from a lady at church who brought a similar dish to a church dinner. She got the recipe from the Ukraine where she's been on several mission trips. I searched online and found this recipe at Will Cook for Smiles which is very similar to the Ukrainian one. I added a few tweaks of my own to the prep and ingredients and this is the result.

First, you need to make the chicken meatballs, so here's what you need:

1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teas minced garlic
1 egg
1 teas dried dill weed
1/2 teas sea salt
1/4 teas pepper

Combine the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form into small balls (you should get about 30-35 meatballs) and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in the center.

While the meatballs are baking, you can get the rest of the soup ready. You'll need:

1/2 onion, diced
1 cup shredded or finely chopped carrots
2 teas minced garlic
4 cups chicken stock (1 32-oz carton)
4 cups water
1 1/2 teas dried dill weed
1 1/2 teas sea salt
1/4 teas papper
1 cup orzo or other small pasta like ditalini

In a soup pot, cook the onions with a little olive oil. Add the carrots and allow to soften. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients except the pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.

When the chicken meatballs are cooked, carefully add them to the simmering soup. Stir in the pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.