Spaghetti and Meatball "Stoup" (Rachel Ray)

It's been kind of a rough few weeks of cooking in terms of the blog. I have turned to staples a lot lately with all of the holidays and then I had to travel last week. I did want to post this soup (or stoup, as Rachel Ray calls it - which just means it's thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew) which I made last week. I have made this one before and it again plays in to my boys obsessive love of meatballs. It's sort of reminiscent of something you might have eaten as a kid and if you love tomato soup, you get that fix from this one too. I made it exactly as written from food network and will give it to you the same way. This is also a great leftover recipe and though it says it served 4, we all ate it twice and there was plenty to go around.

Spaghetti and Meatball Stoup (from Food Network's Rachel Ray)

Timing - 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into a small dice
1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
2 small ribs celery from the heart, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups tomato sauce or 1 (14-ounce) can plus 1 (8-ounce) can
3 cups chicken stock, available in a box on the soup aisle
1 pound ground beef, pork and veal mix (meatloaf mix) available at butcher counter
1/2 cup grated cheese, Parmigiano or Romano, plus more to pass at table
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a few handfuls
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1/2 pound spaghetti, broken in half
1 cup basil leaves, torn or shredded
1 loaf Italian crusty bread, for dunking

How to Make
Preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and stock and cover pot. Turn up heat and bring to a fast boil.

While soup comes to a boil, mix the ground meat with cheese, bread crumbs, egg and parsley. Roll into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls.

Remove lid from soup and slide balls into soup. Bring back to a boil then stir in spaghetti. Reduce the heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more, until pasta is tender and balls have cooked through. Stir in basil and remove "stoup" from the stove. Serve soup with bread and cheese.

Serves 4