Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2008

This is a great soup. Then night before I made the meatballs, boiled them in water and then drained them and browned them. I combined the chicken broth, grated carrots, frozen spinich (defrosted and dried), and meatballs. I put this in my crockpot and stored in the the fridge. I also cooked the pasta, rinsed it and tossed it with a little olive oil. Then next morning I warmed up the soup in the crock pot by heating on high for 4 hour. One hour before serving I added the pasta that I had heated in the microwave. It came out perfect! The meatballs were tender, the soup was not greasy and the pasta was perfect. A wonderful soup for a lunch time meeting! Thanks!

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Beth

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2008

Delicious! I doubled the meat so I could freeze some and see how they tasted in spagetti later on down the road. I only had italian style bread crumbs so I ommitted the basil and onion powder in the meat so they wouldn't be too powerful. I did add the spices to the boulion for fear the soup would be bland. I used frozen spinach and a little more than a 1/3 of a cup of frozen carrot/pea mix (all i had on hand). I also didn't have any orzo so I used macaroni noodles. My 19 month old is going through a picky stage with all his veggies but ate his whole bowl gone! *UPDATE* Ok so I made this last night and it was delicious! I made the meatballs with groud turkey. When I made the chicken stock I added the spices to the stock along with about a 1 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. Instead of orzo I used alphabet noodles which are small like orzo and fun for my kids. I drained frozen spinach this time which made the soup that much better because there wasn't an overwhelming spinach taste or look since the soup wasn't green...lol. Perfect!

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Mrs. Mason

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Reno, Nevada, USA

Living In: Idyllwild, California, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2008

I make this soup a lot around the holidays. My in-laws (who are very picky) love this soup despite the fact that most of them hate green vegetables. Tastes even better when you float half a stick of pepperoni on top.

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Jane

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2008

My Mother and both of my Grandmothers came straight off of the boat (literally!) and this soup is JUST like thiers. Agreed, you should cook the pasta seperately or add more broth to make up for it, as my mother told me, but other than that it does not get more Italian than this! Some people suggested using chicken or turkey for the meatballs, but that isn't the authentic way to make this - the combination of the flavors works perfectly as is. It is just as I remembered it when my mom made this for me as a kid in the Bronx when I stayed home sick from school. I am so happy that I can make this for my kids now too, when I have them! : )

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Dani

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Santa Barbara, California, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 8, 2008

Delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe stated, only I added some garlic to my meat mixture. Thanks for the great recipe.

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Kelly P.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Omaha, Nebraska, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 1, 2008

This was a great recipe....and extremely easy. The first pot I made..did not last long at all, so a second pot is on the stove. I did change a coiple of things.....first, the thought of raw meat cooking in a soup just does not appeal to me..so I boiled the meatballs for 1 minute in water and chicken boullion (2 cubes), this worked out perfectly and reduced the amount of grease in the soup. I also used italian seasoning instead of basil in the meatballs. Other than that, it was delious and very easy.

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DESIREEDUDLEY2000

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Reviewed: Aug. 28, 2008

I am giving this 5 stars for 1(taste, 2(low sodium, 3(few ingredients, 4(ease in preparation and 5( BECAUSE WE LOVED IT!!! Made it on a chilly, rainy day and it was so comforting. Will make it again and again. (And we are not Italians, but what's not to love about Italian cuisine?)

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Mary C.

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Reviewed: Aug. 25, 2008

This was so yummy! I was a little unsure with so few ingredients that it would have enough flavor, but I loved it! Hubby and daughter loved it too!

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HGIBSON12

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Reviewed: Jul. 18, 2008

This was a great quick soup to make and eat. My son loved it. Toasted some garlic bread to dip in the broth..Yummo! Even better the next day.

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loves2eat

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Mililani, Hawaii, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 25, 2008

Very yummy! I brought it to a pot luck at work. I cooked it the night before, undercooking it slightly. Then I just turned it on high in my crock pot in my office letting it simmer all morning. By lunch it was perfect!

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KatieDB

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bornholm, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Jun. 3, 2008

This was a pretty good recipe...I used double thw amount of meat and used ground turke instead of beef...My only complaint was that it lacked some flavour. I'll bump up the spices next time round!!!!

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TAMIE33

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Burlington, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2008

I liked this soup! I used ground turkey for my meatballs and was worried about them holding their shape because the meat is so soft, so I put them on a greased cookie sheet and placed under the broiler about 5 minutes till they browned and they held their shape fine! I doubled everything except I used 2/3 cup of the orzo and about 7 cups of broth. I also added about 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes in my meatballs for some kick! I agree with another reviewer... I'll never go back to canned soups again!

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Traci's Kitchen

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Modesto, California, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2008

this is a very good soup. I added a few finely chopped onions to my meatballs rather than the onion powder.

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Julia

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Denver, Colorado, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 8, 2008

Made the meatballs with venison, since that was what we had on hand. Flavor was outstanding! Followed the rest of the recipe exact. Thank you for this soup recipe.

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wunchie

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 26, 2008

I love soup, and after making my own, I will never be able to eat the stuff from a can again! This soup was excellent! Based upon other reviews, I doubled the meat so I'd have a lot of meatballs, and added extra broth. I tried browning the meatballs before tossing them in with everything else, but may not do that next time (just to compare). I never measure veggies that I cut up for soup, and probably ended up with more than the recipe called for. Really didn't change much: some garlic and onion powder in the meatball mix, and a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper added to the broth. I have already made this twice, and plan on making it frequently in the future!

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Marlena C.

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2008

This was very good, even my 3 y.o. ate it! I used fresh breadcrumbs and added some oregano and basil to the meatballs. I also substituted collard greens for the escarole b/c I couldn't find it in the store.

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MONKEY235

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Astoria, Oregon, USA

Living In: Mukilteo, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2008

This recipe is really nice, you can make any kind of adjustments. I used pork sausage in my meatball mixture and used a little more garlic and bread crumbs. I also boiled the orzo separately with salted water, then rinsed with cold water to stop the cooking process. I added the orzo 5 minutes before serving and I did not loose any of the broth and it was even better the next day! Enjoy!

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Rocky

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Westerville, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2008

I substituted ground turkey for the lean ground beef and added some minced fresh onion to the mix -- I actually like the flavor better and it made it healthier. In my area, this soup is usually made with ancini de pepi noodles (teeny, tiny ones) I also used fresh leaf spinach instead of the escarole.

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Leslee

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Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2008

Very easy, my kids loved it!!

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Jodie

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Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2008

This was just an OK soup. I am used to this soup from the can and honestly in my opinion I liked the canned version better. This version was kind of blah.

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