Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

 * from the sneaky kitchen:
 * 1 recipe of your favorite meatballs from 1 lb. lean beef, made very small
 * 4 qts good chicken broth
 * 2 med carrots, scrubbed and chopped
 * 1 large stalk of celery, coarsely chopped
 * 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
 * 2 cloves garlic, minced
 * 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped, or 2 tsp dried
 * 2 bay leaves
 * 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
 * black pepper to taste
 * red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
 * 1 tsp lemon juice
 * salt to taste
 * 10 oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed
 * 8 oz orzo, uncooked, or other tiny pasta

Directions
Put the broth on to boil while you prepare the veggies. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, seasonings and lemon juice, but leave the salt for later. Bring to a full rolling boil, then turn down the heat and cook until the carrots are very tender. Add salt to taste. Squeeze the thawed spinach gently to remove excess liquid, and add with the pasta. Bring back to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add the meatballs and simmer gently until the pasta is well done and the meatballs are hot. Extra cooking at a low simmer only improves this dish. Serve with crusty bread, and, if you like, a sprinkle of good parmesan cheese. Mangia! For variations, hints and more recipes for this versatile dish, see http://sneakykitchen/Recipes/italian_wedding_soup.htm