Gluten Free Meatball Soup

Today, I was lacking cooking inspiration, and did not feel like going to the grocery store.  Maybe it's because I've been sick for 3 days.  Meatball Soup was a last minute idea I had before I had to pick up my girls from school, and who doesn't love soup when they are sick?  

I pulled a bag of meatballs out of the freezer, and defrosted them in a sink full of cold water while I drove to school.  You can view my mini meatball recipe here.  

Tonight's dinner was all about working with food I had in the house.  I always have chicken broth, San Marzano tomatoes, and Cannellini beans in my pantry.  

My girls loved it, and I have plenty of leftovers for dinner tomorrow, because my husband was not home to enjoy the soup tonight. 

Meatball Soup

Ingredients

1/2 large sweet onion - diced

1 T olive oil

2 cloves (1 tsp) garlic - minced

64 ounces gluten free chicken broth

1 can San Marzano tomatoes - 28 ounces or less 

2 cans of cannellini beans - rinsed

Kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, and Romano or Parmesan cheese to taste

2 C short grain brown rice - uncooked (I use Lundberg)

1/2 recipe of gluten free mini meatballs - uncooked

Directions

Cook the brown rice according to package directions.  

In a large soup pot, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until slightly browned, then add the garlic. Stir the garlic and onion mixture for another minute or two, until the garlic begins to brown, before adding the chicken broth, meatballs, tomatoes, and beans.  If your tomatoes are whole, squeeze them and break them up before adding them to the pot.  Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for about an hour, until the rice is cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Put rice in your bowls before adding the soup.  Garnish with a sprinkle of Romano or Parmesan.  

Recipe Notes

This recipe was inspired by my aunt's meatball soup.  She usually adds a little carrot and celery too, but not being a fan of either vegetable, I rarely use them when making soup.