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Usually matzoh ball soup is made with matzoh meal, but here is a recipe that uses crumbled up matzoh bread. It is non traditional though:

http://www.tastingmenu.com/recipes/2003-pesach/cajunmatzahballs.htm

I have read some recipies calling for baking powder (which is probably in the matzo meal), and some for mixing club soda into the matzo...any ideas on these methods, do they make the matzo balls lighter? I think making the chicken broth will be the easiest part since I often make my own stock.

Most people use matzo meal. The recipe is on the package. After preparing the dough according to the directions, let it rest, covered, for at least an hour. This helps the meal to get fully saturated which will guarantee light matzo balls. Other than that little trick, just follow the directions exactly.

Thanks for your help, I will go out and get some matzo meal. I remember her matzo balls being light and on the small side. I am making these tomorrow for a post v-day treat.

This is my great-grandmother's recipe. My mother had to try to sneak peeks at the process, but my gg didn't really want to pass it on. After 14 years of Passovers my mother finally got it just the same texture (though she uses veg. oil instead of rendered chicken fat). DO NOT make this in the chicken soup. Make is salt water and add to soup when they're done.

1/2 cup matzah meal (finely crushed matzah)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
2–3 tbsp chicken broth (i guess veg would work too)
salt and pepper

In a bowl, whisk together the oil, broth, eggs, salt and pepper.
Stir in the matzah meal.
It should have the consistency of loose pudding.
Refridgerate for 1/2 hour.

Bring some water to a rolling boil and salt it up.
Dip your hands in cold water and then scoop up the firmed matzah mix with three fingertips, rolling it into a small ball and drop it into the salted water.
Continue to boil for at least a half hour. They should be floating and will have expanded to about 1.5 times their starting size.

My family recipe which was passed down from my Great Great Aunt Ida uses whole matzo. They are the most elegant matzo balls you will ever taste. Very different from the leaden golf ball sized ones you get at the deli.
The recipe is as follows:

Great Great Aunt Ida's Matzo Balls

12 matzo soaked in water until moist and then sqeezed out w/ tea towels
12 tbsp chicken fat aka shmaltz (sold at kosher groceries) *
1 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp chopped parsley
4 eggs, lightly beaten
matzo meal as needed

heat chicken fat over medium high heat
Fry onions in fat until golden brown
add matzo and seasonings
fry until the matzo is dried out and beginning to brown
remove from pan and let cool a bit
taste for seasoning - add more salt and pepper if needed, but not more ginger. ginger flavor should be subtle
add eggs and parsley and mix with hands until eggs are incoporated
shape into walnut sized balls, using matzo meal only if necessary to form the balls
refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight

boil chicken broth and add matzo balls. when they float to the top they are done.

* you can use butter if you can't find shmaltz. I usually only use 8 tbsp of either butter or shmaltz.

I'm of the "I like hard matzoh balls" camp, actually. To me, if they're fluffy, they're annoying. Therefore, I use the recipe on the package, then add extra matzoh meal before sticking them in the fridge.

However, what I do to make them tasty is this: add in an awful lot of celery salt, a good handful of marjoram that I crush right in my palm, before dumping those in the eggs, and a little basil, treated the same way. If you want them to be REALLY good, instead of using water to add to the batter/dough, use chicken soup. (BTW, if you use bouillon, I advise Carmel's brand of chicken bouillon, it's like having Bubbe's soup, if not quite as good.)

I also roll them into balls with my hands, to add to the density.

You're such a great girlfriend! I think it's so nice that you're trying to make him matzo ball soup.

A piece of advice I have is to make the matzo balls IN the soup, not in separate water. Make them up from the matzo meal (Manischewitz sells a good matzo meal for matzo balls) and then let them cook in the soup broth. That way they take in flavor and they're fluffy! Shhh...it's my mom's secret :)

Hillary
Chew on That

Go out and buy Croyden House Matzo Ball Soup Mix and follow the directions. That's Croyden House, not Manischewitz, not Streich's...you can't go wrong. The flavour is the best and the Matzo balls are always fluffy. Runs about $ 2.50 USD a package............

Here is my simple, but sure-fire, personal recipe for you:

Chicken Soup w/Matzo Balls
Prep plus cooking time: 1–1/2 hours
8 servings

1 cup matzo meal
4 large eggs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
table salt & ground pepper
seltzer water or club soda
4 tbsp. light olive oil
1 lb. ground chicken
1–1/2 lbs. skinless boneless chicken thighs and/or breasts
3 qts. pre-packaged chicken broth (I use Swanson Natural Goodness)
3 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4" rounds
3 medium stalks celery, large dice
1 large onion, large dice
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/2 lb. thin egg noodles, pre-cooked al denté

Equipment
Two large stockpots
Fine mesh strainer

Method
Melt the butter in the microwave in a pyrex cup (1 min). Cool slightly. Lightly beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Add the butter and 4 tbsp. seltzer water and mix. Stir in a 1/8 tsp. ground pepper, 2 tsp. table salt, and the matzo meal until well mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 15 min.
Bring a large stockpot of water to a rapid boil. Form matzo mixture into golf ball-sized balls, and drop into boiling water. Cover pot and boil for 45 min. Transfer cooked matzo balls to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and reserve.

In the second pot, heat 2 tbsp. oil, then sauté the ground chicken until no longer pink. Add the chicken broth. Cook on a low simmer for 30 min. Skim excess fat from the top.

Wash and dry the first pot. Cut the chicken into bite–sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tbsp. oil to the pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sauté 3 min. Add the onion, garlic clove, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the onions are translucent (8 min).

Strain the stock from the broth pot, discard all the ground chicken, and add the liquid into the pot with the chicken and veggies. Continue cooking on simmer until the chicken pieces are cooked through, and the carrots and celery are al denté (10 min). Taste and add salt as necessary. Add in the dill, matzo balls, and noodles, and heat through just before serving.