Old Country Soup

This is a recipe that my great aunt Ella shared in our family cookbook. I think it's delicious, and I love incorporating beans into meals, because they seem to stretch the meal farther.

This recipe starts off with making meatballs (in the original version), so you can follow that part, or if you happen to have some of Lucy's Easy Peasy Meatballs in the freezer, get those thawing (or, be lazy like me, and just throw them in the pot first with the broth and let them cook for a few minutes to thaw them out)!

First, I'm going to share my version of this soup, and then after that I will share the original version. The main differences being that I've used broth in place of some of the water, added green beans, and changed some of the spices. The original version is delicious-- I've just changed things up to try and make it something more in line with what my family will eat.

1/2 cup chopped Onion
1 14.5 oz can of Chicken Broth
1 lb. Frozen Meatballs
2 cups Water
1/2 lb. noodles (I use rotini, farfalle, or some other version that is easy for kids to eat)
1 can of Beans (chick peas, white beans, black beans, whatever you like)
1 can of Green Beans
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Plain Yogurt
Directions: Saute onion in a little bit of oil or butter. Then add chicken broth and meatballs, and let cook until meatballs are thawed. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT yogurt. Bring to a boil. Let boil for approximately 8-10 minutes, until noodles are tender.
Before serving, add yogurt.
For a printable version of this recipe, click the magic button

Original Recipe

1 Large Onion
1/4 cup Oil
1 lb. Ground Beef
4 Cups Water
1/4 lb. dry flat noodles
1/2 cup chick peas
1 cup white beans
1 tsp. Coriander powder or 1 Tbsp whole seed coriander
1 tsp. dried mint
1 tsp. black pepper
3 tsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt

Saute chopped onion in oil. Form smalls balls of the ground beef and brown in the oil.
Bring 4 cups water to boil, drop in meat balls, noodles, chick peas, beans, spices. Cook until noodles are tender.
Just before serving, add yogurt.

Note: Do not reheat or boil once yogurt is added, as that will cause yogurt to separate (this is the note she gave me, but I'll be honest, I've reheated it. The yogurt separates, but it still tastes fine).

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