Chicken & Stars Soup

Haillie and Abby went grocery shopping with me last week and that is how we ended up with a box of Stellini (star) pasta. They both were excited for me to make something with it. At first I was planning on make a simple chicken noodle soup and just add some stars to it. That sounded so boring. I then started off with my grandma's basic recipe and switched out the shredded chicken for chicken meatballs. Abby loves chicken meatballs. I then used my salad shooter to add shredded carrots and potatoes. The goal was to sneak them into the soup for flavor. Abby gave me the "finicky seal of approval". Whew. I thickened it with some flour so if you want it more soupy omit the flour. The flavor and textures are amazing! And it turned into a stick to your ribs kind of soup.

Recipe from me.
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
Soup
1 cup onion, chopped
2 large carrots, shredded
1 cup celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 potatoes, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup stars pasta
Direcitons
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix ground chicken, pepper, salt, bread crumbs and egg.  Mix thoroughly and form into mini balls, about 1 teaspoon of meat. Place on sprayed broiler rack. Bake for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the flour, oregano, thyme and poultry seasoning until blended; saute 1 minute longer. Gradually add broth, potatoes and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in the chicken meatballs and star pasta; simmer for 7 minutes or until pasta is tender. Reduce heat.