Italian Wedding Soup

This is usually made with little tiny meatballs cooked in with the vegetables. I make it both ways, this way if I dont feel like forming five thousand 1/2 inch meat balls or dont have any ground meat on hand

1 c. brown lentils
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 or 3 carrots, sliced into coins
2 stalks celery, sliced
6 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 c. orzo or other small pasta
3 handfuls or spinach, chopped fine

Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add stock, italian seasoning, and lentils and simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. When the lentils are tender add the carrots, celery and orzo and simmer until pasta is al dente. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking until both pasta and spinach are cooked.

Economical Counter: 5, 1-1/2 c. servings (with 1/2 c. leftover)
Lentils $0.39
Italian seasoning $0.33
Onion $0.25
Garlic $0.12
Carrots (3) $0.54
Celery $0.36
6 cups chicken (using Tones bouillon cubes) $0.15
Orzo $0.50
Spinach $1.50

Total: $4.14
Total per serving: $0.83