We love love love Barefoot Contessa’s Italian Wedding Soup at our house. How could you not? Delicious meatballs and CSA veggies all in one bite. Trust me, this dish is definitely worth making. And what’s even cooler is the recipe calls for carrots (CSA box), dill (CSA), swiss chard (CSA), and celery (after school market), which means I’m also putting my weekly purchases to good use! Bonus: my one-year-old ate quite a bit tonight, which is a major victory since we are having some challenges in the food area. So?

  • Kid? Check
  • Family? Check
  • Lunch and/or Dinner? Check

Clearly, I’m having a meatballpalooza these days (see previous post). You have to understand, I didn’t grow up eating meatballs. My mom never made them. I’m sure there is some reasonable explanation for this unbelievable life choice. I have to say that the Italian Wedding Soup reinforces my love for a new kind of meatball: The Chicken Meatball. Huh? Yeah, you heard me. Chicken Meatballs.

This Italian Wedding Soup recipe calls for meatballs made from chicken sausage (removed from casings) and ground chicken. Now here’s where “real life” comes in: Don’t let the chicken sausage/ground chicken mixture freak you out. It’s a bit weird on the texture side, but just find your happy place and speed through the process because I promise it is worth it.

Also, do me a favor and don’t make the mistake I’ve made time and time again and decide to leave the dill out. Look, I’m not a big fan either, but I added it this time and now I understand why Ina includes it (why do I even doubt Ina?). I also used swiss chard and baby spinach for the greens. Just use what you have on hand. Big shout outs to Snow’s Bend Farm for giving me the perfect CSA this week as I incorporated half of my box!

This soup might be the perfect dish to make after Thanksgiving when you want something a little light, but with some oooomph. This is your dish, people.

Click here for the complete recipe.