Italian Meatball Soup Rapido

Normally I shy away from pre-made ingredients. I think that, for the most part, food can be pretty simply and quickly prepared without relying on pre-mixed powders and neon cheese.

I'm looking at you, Mr. I-have-Hamburger-and-need-Help-with-what-to-do-with-it.

But I make an exception for frozen, pre-cooked meatballs. They're almost the 8th Wonder of the World. (...I need to travel.) When your stomach's rumbling during a late class and a classic Italian delight sounds better than an A+, the last thing you'd want to do for dinner is whip up a batch of labor-intensive 'balls.

This soup is precisely what it claims to be: rapido. But, word of warning, that's only indicative of how quickly it's made. Don't eat it too fast and endanger your precious taste buds, like I did.  They'll be screaming "lo ti odio!" Italian for: I hate you. Whoops!

Italian Meatball Soup Rapido    Serves: 2
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small celery rib, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 t. olive oil
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
10 frozen, pre-cooked meatballs (I used smaller turkey meatballs)
1(15 oz) can white beans
1/2 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
1.) Add olive oil to a pot and heat over medium heat, then add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute until onion softens, about 4 minutes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Cover.
2.) Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté meatballs (do not thaw if frozen), turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 3 minutes. 
3.) Add meatballs to soup along with beans and briskly simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and meatballs are heated through, about 15 minutes. Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Top with Parmesan. 

Adapted from: Epicurious