Italian Wedding Soup

1. Finely chop one-third of the onion; thinly slice remaining onion. In a large bowl, combine chopped onion, dried tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning. Add ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, and salt; mix well. Shape into 12 meatballs. In a Dutch oven, brown meatballs in hot oil. Carefully drain off fat.

2. Meanwhile, cut off and discard upper stalks of fennel. If desired, save some of the feathery fennel leaves for a garnish. Remove any wilted outer layers; cut off a thin slice from fennel base. Cut fennel into thin wedges; add to Dutch oven with sliced onion, broth, garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and the black pepper.

3. Bring to boiling; stir in orzo. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until orzo is tender.

4. Stir in spinach. If desired, garnish soup with reserved fennel leaves. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

Slow Cooker Method
Prepare meatballs and fennel as above. After browning meatballs, place meatballs and sliced onion in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add fennel, broth, garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and the black pepper. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. If using low-heat setting, turn cooker to high-heat setting. Gently stir orzo into soup. Cover; cook 15 minutes more. Stir in spinach. Garnish as above.