A Twist on Chicken "Noodle" Soup

This colder weather has made me long for a warm dinner pretty much every night.  I found this recipe a few weeks back and after making it a few times, I've made my own tweaks along the way.  It comforts you just the same way chicken noodle soup does, but with a twist.

Ingredient

Chicken Meatballs:

1 lb ground chicken

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

2 tbls garlic 

2 tsp dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Soup:

2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

2 medium carrots, shredded

1 garlic clove

4 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of orzo

2 tsp dill weed

Directions

1. Meatballs: In a mixing bowl, combine the meat, garlic, bread crumbs, egg,  dill weed, salt and pepper. Mix and divide it into small meatballs a little smaller than a ping-pong ball.  Additionally, dice onions and carrots and set aside.
2. Preheat 2 tbs of oil in a soup pot, over medium heat. Add meatballs and saute until cooked through 9 about 8-10 minutes.
3. Remove meat balls and set aside, add a tiny bit more oil with the garlic, diced onion and carrots. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute the veggies until they begin to caramelize. Stir often.
4. When vegetables are caramelized, add meatballs back into the pot and add the chicken broth.
5. Add a tiny bit more dill and salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes.
6. When the broth starts to boil a bit, add orzo and cook until orzo is done. (About 10 minutes but make sure to taste the orzo to check.)
7. Serve and enjoy!

** This does have a tendency to become thick, so if you want to maintain a soup like consistency, I'd add 1 cup to a 1 cup and a 1/2 in addition to the amount listed above.