Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Meatless Monday

 

 

 

 Put your olive oil in a pot get hot.  Dice your white onion and sauté until soft.

 While onions are cooking dice up your celery, carrots and garlic.  Add to the onion mixture and sauté for 3 minutes longer. 

 Add in the chicken stock.  I prefer this brand of chicken over the other brands at the store.  It seems to have more flavor. For this soup you will need to buy 2 boxes.  Each box is 4 cups of stock.

 Add in your tomatoes, spices and orzo pasta.  Bring up to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add in your spinach and cook until it turns a bright green. 

Finish product.  It was so good and my 3 boys couldn't wait to eat they loved it. 


Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups whole wheat orzo pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
4 cups loosely packed spinach (I ended up using 8 cups spinach because my boys love fresh spinach)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat.  Add onions and sauté for 4 minutes, until soft.  Add carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.  Add chicken stock, tomatoes, orzo, thyme, oregano, rosemary and stir to combine.  Bring soup to a simmer and stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to a medium low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until pasta is al dente. 

Stir in the spinach and for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed.  Serve warm. 

It would be really good to serve with garlic bread and top the soup off with shredded parmesan cheese.  We just ate it without the bread and cheese.