Ingredients for meatballs:
1 lb Ground Round- 1/2 cup of cornmeal (those not eating corn like me- can use any kind of gluten free flour-brown rice, sorghum, etc.)
1/4 cup milk (I don't drink cows milk so I used goat milk)
1 large egg
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tsp minced fresh garlic (or 1 clove minced)
1 tsp sea salt ( or Morton canning salt if mercury is an issue)
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I used Italian seasoning for both the oregano and cumin)
Ingredients for soup:
2 qts of organic chicken broth (vegetable or beef would work too -I also used 1 qt broth and 1 qt water)
1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes (Muir glen organic fire roasted is really good if you can find them)
1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped mild green chilies with liquid
1 cup diced sweet onions
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried cumin (I substituted Italian seasoning again for the oregano and cumin)
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (more or less to taste)
1/3 cup brown rice (I actually added 2 cups to make this soup more hearty)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Putting it all together-
meatballs: Combine all the ingredients and mix well but do not overwork. Make small 1 inch meatballs and set aside.
Soup base: Place all ingredients (minus the rice and meatballs) for soup in a large stock pot. Bring it to a boil. When boiling add the rice and meatballs and cook for 15 minutes until meatballs are done. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm. You can add cheese to top of each bowl if dairy is not an issue.
