Wait...you've never heard of Wedding Soup before? Then you've been deprived your entire life!

Man Flu: As defined by Urban Dictionary man flu is the condition shared by all males wherein a common illness (usually a mild cold) is presented by the patient as life-threatening. It's also the story of my life this week, as my fiance seems to come down with a serious case of it.  Knowing he wasn't feeling well, I told him I'd have a pot of my wedding soup ready for him when he got home from work on Tuesday.

Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
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Apparently, Wedding Soup isn't as popular in the Pacific Northwest as it is where I grew up.  If you're not familiar with wedding soup, it's a soup that includes green veggies, mini meatballs and sometimes small noodles.  The soup itself really has nothing to do with marriage.  Its name comes from the Italian "minestra maritata" which translates to "married soup" and refers to how well the flavor of broth, meat and greens comes together. My maternal grandfather had a recipe that's been passed down through the family for generations and that's what I decided to make my fiance to help cure his man flu.

In addition to the amount of comments I got asking what the soup was, an equal amount of people asked me to share his recipe.  I thought, this is perfect soup weather, so why not? It's easy and cheap to make!

The Heart Family Wedding Soup Recipe

Ingredients

  • (2) 30 oz boxes of Chicken Broth
  • Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
  • (1) 14 oz Can of Spinach Leaves
  • (4) Frozen Turkey Meatballs (I use Signature Kitchens brand)
  • (2) Eggs
  • Acini di Pep Pasta
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • In large pot bring chicken broth to boil.  Kick up the flavor by adding Better Than Bouillon to taste.
  • Drain spinach and try to squeeze out as much excess water as you can.  Once broth has boiled, reduce heat to medium and add spinach.  Let simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Thaw meatballs in microwave and cut them into little pieces.  Add to soup and let simmer for 15 minutes.
  • While flavors are coming together, prepare Acini di pepe pasta in a separate pan.  I like to add these to my soup in the bowl later because if you put them in the big pot it gets really big and soaks up all the broth.
  • Beat eggs in a separate bowl.  Slowly drizzle over soup.  It will become noodle like.
  • Put noodles and soup in a bowl.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese to preference.
  • Enjoy!

I do not claim that this soup has healing powers, but Nate claims that it completely made his man flu go away...so it's worth a try if your significant other comes down with this nasty, miserable disease.

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