This post was sponsored by Carando as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Seemingly overnight, our weather went from mild to practically freezing. While I love the cooler, fall temperatures, it is difficult to wake up to 40 degrees in the morning. The colder weather has my whole family craving warm, comfort foods like meatball minestrone more and more.

Meal time is even more important right now because our time together is limited by after school activities, work projects and holiday preparations. So, we definitely try to pick at least 1-2 days per week where we all sit down for dinner together.

For this meatball minestrone, I use meatballs from Carando that I purchased at Food Lion. Food Lion is right next to the coffee shop I visit every day so it is so convenient for me to go in and get anything I may need for recipes I am working on or dinner I am making that night! (Plus, I love that they bag cold items in blue bags to make it easy to sort when I am unloading my groceries). The meatballs are extremely easy to find in our store’s fresh meat section. Carando’s founder, Peter Carando, learned the Italian tradition of sausage-making as an apprentice at his local butcher shop. Then, he brought those authentic recipes here to America. To this day, Carando remains true to those recipes and old world craftsmanship.

Ingredients for Meatball Minestrone:

1 package Carando Abruzzese style meatballs
4 Tbsp oil, divided
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz tomato paste
15 oz diced tomatoes
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1 small piece Parmesan rind
1 ½ cups small pasta (like ditalini)
1 (15 oz) can navy beans, rinsed and drained
2 zucchini, sliced
2 cups chopped kale

Let’s Make It:

1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in large sauté pan. Add meatballs and brown on all sides. Remove from pan.

2. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in large stockpot. Add onion and carrots and cooking, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat to simmer and add browned meatballs, Italian seasoning, oregano and Parmesan rind. Cook for 10 minutes.

5. Stir in pasta, beans, zucchini and kale. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes.

This soup is ready in just about 30 minutes but it has all the flavor of one that has simmered for hours thanks, in part, to the incredible flavor of the Carando meatballs.

Right now, you can receive a Free Private Label Pasta with the purchase of Carando Meatballs (up to $1.50 value) by using this coupon (be sure to search for Carando). Also, be sure to visit Carando’s Facebook page for more information and recipe ideas. And be sure to look for Carando Meatballs at your local Food Lion.