Ingredients: 

Meatballs:

• 8ox. lean ground beef
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup finely shredded      parmesan
• 1 large egg
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Soup:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups of diced carrots
• 1 1/4 cups of diced yellow onion
• 3/4 cup of diced celery
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 5 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
• 1 cup dry acini de pepe or orzo pasta
• 6 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
• Shredded parmesan

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
3. Break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute ingredients. Shape mixture into small, bite size meatballs and transfer to a greased pan. 
4. Bake meatballs until evenly brown, approximately 20-25 minutes. 
5. Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Finely dice carrots, onions and celery and mince garlic. 
7. While meatballs are browning, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and sauté until veggies have softened, about 6 - 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté one minute longer.
8. Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to light boil (about medium or medium-low).
9. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
10. Add chopped spinach to soup during the last minute of cooking. 
11. Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.

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