Meatball Tortellini Soup

I was really surprised how much we all liked this recipe, Harper included. Although it's not as quick of a meal for a weeknight, there are ways to prep on the weekend to speed up the time spent standing over the stove. It's perfect for a Saturday or Sunday because it can feed an army or you can plan to eat this for lunch during the week like I do.
The recipe has three main components: Soup, Tortellini and Meatballs. I used this recipe from Food Network as my inspiration, but called on a couple other blogs and recipes I've made in the past as I went along. Keep reading to find out how it all came together.


STEP ONE
I started by making the best tasting meatball ever and referenced these recipes from my past.
1 lb ground beef
2 T grated onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 egg
2 T shredded parmesan
1/2 t salt
1 handful of cilantro and celery leaves (I would have used parsley if I had it on hand, but I improvised and it was just great)

Mix all the ingredients by hand and then roll into small bite size balls. I fried these in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil and butter until they were brown on all sides and then set aside on a plate.

STEP TWO
Then I made the best soup ever and referenced this chicken noodle soup recipe.
1/2 onion, chopped
4 carrots, large dice
2 celery, small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C dry sherry
1 sprig of rosemary (these are the two herbs I used because it was the fresh herbs I had on hand)
5 sprigs of thyme
8 cups chicken stock (I use the Better than Bouillon mixed with water to taste)

In a dutch oven I sautéed the onion, carrots, celery and fresh herbs for about 10 minutes in olive oil and butter until just starting to brown and then I added the garlic last. After another minute, I added the dry sherry. Once the sherry had nearly evaporated I started adding the chicken stock.

STEP THREE
The last piece of the recipe is the tortellini. I don't think I want to take on making these by hand - I've done homemade dumplings before and they are so much work. For this recipe, I purchased fresh four cheese tortellini made by Buitoni but I will look for something new in the future. I felt like these were bland. I boiled 5 quarts of water, and added the tortellini for 7 minutes.

STEP FOUR
To bring it all together, chop two cups of kale (or collard greens or baby spinach) and add it to the soup along with the meatballs and tortellini. Bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve in large soup bowls and top with more shredded parmesan cheese.