Mini Meatball Soup

This delicious soup recipe comes from a great resource for freezer meals, "Seriously Good Freezer Meals" by Karrie Truman.  Karrie has amazing recipes along with tips and tricks on how to best freeze foods.  This is just one of her recipes.  

Ingredients

• 2 cups rotini pasta (uncooked)
• 12 oz breakfast sausage
• 2 tbsp Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese (extra for garnish)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 1 cup chopped kale
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1.Prepare pasta as directed on package.  Drain and set aside. 

2. Place breadcrumbs and Parmesan into a bowl.

3. Cut sausages into bite sized pieces and drop into bowl with Parmesan and breadcrumb mixture.  Shake the bowl to coat all the pieces. 

4. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot.  Fry the sausages until no longer pink  inside.  

5. Add the diced onion and carrots to the pot.  Saute for 3 minutes, then add the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and thyme.  Saute and stir for another minute. 

6. Next add the beans, pasta, and chicken broth to the pan.  Bring the soup to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

7. Add the kale and pesto.  Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

8. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and enjoy immediately.