This is something I created tonight and it turned out so delicious I
thought I'd share. I served it with a salad and some crusty french
bread. You could premake the dumplings and freeze them to save on
mid-week prep time. The dumplings would also be tasty deep-fried.

Italian Wonton Soup
1/3 lb raw ground beef, pork, a combo of beef/pork or italian sausage
salt, pepper, garlic, italian herb blend (omit if using italian
sausage)
2 -3 TB sundried tomato & black olive bruchetta spread (I got mine
from Trader Joes)
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
2-3 roasted chestnuts, chopped
spinach wonton wrappers (from the deli-case)
Bulb of fennel, sliced plus 2 TB minced for meat mix
2 green onions, minced (reserve 1 for soup garnish)
2 TB minced parsley
egg white, to seal

1 gallon chicken stock with 1 TB of paprika added

Meat filling: mix together well in a bowl the following: meat, spices,
herbs, cheese, chestnuts, 2 TB of minced fennel, the bruchetta spread,
parsley and green onions.

To Make dumplings:
Dab about 1 tsp of meat filling in center of each wonton wrapper, then
fold in half and seal with egg.
Bring stock to a boil and add 1/2 dumplings; boil approx 15 mins.
Remove cooked and add rest of dumplings along with the sliced fennel;
boil 15 mins.

To serve:
Adjust seasoning of stock, if necessary.
Place 4-6 dumplings in a bowl, cover with hot stock (be sure to get
some yummy fennel slices in the bowl, too). Sprinkle with green onion &
offer shaved parmesan cheese.

You could add one other kind of vegie to the soup, but I wouldn't make
it too complicated.
Hope you enjoy!


Happy Thanksgiving!
Barb Anne