Turkey Meatball, Orzo and Escarole Soup

I realized the other day that it has been a very long time since I made any kind of soup for dinner. It's time for soup!!! The days are cold and blustery and there is nothing better than coming in from outside with a hot bowl of satisfying soup. Gentle warmth from the inside out.

Eating healthy has had it's challenges. I prefer creamy soups as opposed to clear soups, so I am trying to psych myself out and change my preferences - without sacrificing flavor and texture. Substituting a leaner chicken breast or turkey breast meatball for a beef meatball is a smart and healthier choice. I'm most surprised by how tasty the low sodium or sodium-free chicken stocks are! I thought they would be very bland and watery, and that is just not the case. I've also focused more on eating colors. Red beets, purple cabbage, green spinach, orange carrots - - a rainbow on your plate signifies health and well being.

If only I would stop procrastinating and get myself to the gym!

What was I talking about? Oh yes! Soup! The following soup has become an instant classic in my kitchen. It was easy to prepare, tasty, reheats well and kept me full for the rest of the night due to the high protein content of the turkey meatballs.

TURKEY MEATBALL, ORZO AND ESCAROLE SOUP


For the meatballs:
1 lb ground lean turkey breast
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add all meatball ingredients in a large bowl, and gently combine with your fingers. Do not overmix! Form meatballs into 1 inch balls and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, shaking the baking sheet halfway through the cooking process. Remove from heat and let cool.

Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months in a zip lock freezer bag.

For the soup:
Prepared Turkey Meatballs
1 1/2 cups chopped carrot
1 cup dried orzo
8 cups chicken stock
4 cups roughly chopped escarole
salt and pepper, to taste
water, if needed

In a large stockpot, bring chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and add carrots and orzo. Cook for 10 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and escarole. Cook until meatballs are completely heated through and escarole wilts into the soup. (Add water, if soup is not broth'y enough.) Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with some bread of your choice. My choice was a 9-grain breadstick, so easy dipping.


The meatballs provided the biggest flavor punch with just a hint of garlic in the background, and the carmelized texture from baking them in the oven. The orzo was nice and tender. My only change would be exchanging the escarole for spinach, as I prefer the taste of spinach to the other. (Escarole is a lettuce, and even though it does wilt into the soup, it still keeps a watery crunch.)

Turkey-day Leftovers - - Swedish Meatballs made healthier

2 people.

18 pound fresh turkey.
4 1/2 hours cooking time.
Leftovers galore = PRICELESS

We're not totally glutenous...we planned for an entire week of leftovers when we bought such a large turkey for two people. Not only did we feast on hot open-faced sandwiches, but I also re-purposed some traditional items into entirely new dishes.
, meat
Who says that you need to roast the entire bird all at once? Before our brine experiment, I cut away one of the breasts and placed it in the fridge for the next day. Why? So that I could use the lean meat to make some homemade turkey meatballs! I just ground the meat myself in my food processor.

(Not Really) SWEDISH MEATBALLS

2 lbs ground turkey meat to substitute the ground beef in my meatball recipe.
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups half & half (the original recipe called for cream!)
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken, 99% fat free
black pepper
1 package of uncooked dried egg noodles
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish if desired

Follow meatball recipe in the link provided, substituting 2 lbs ground turkey in place of the ground beef, or make you own meatballs using your recipe...OR purchase a package of pre-made meatballs!

In a large skillet, sweat onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the half & half, sour cream and chicken soup, stirring to combine. Add already cooked meatballs and continue to cook in skillet for 20-25 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Meanwhile, prepare egg noodles as directed on package.

Season meatballs and sauce with a few grinds of fresh black pepper, and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve over eggs noodles.


This dish satisfies that creamy texture I was craving - but still remained on the healthier side, since I used fat-free or low-fat ingredients and lean turkey breast meat in the meatballs. Be forewarned that the turkey meatballs will have a slightly different texture than beef or pork meatballs traditionally used in Swedish Meatballs. Plus, it was totally different than the other turkey meals we had after Thanksgiving!!! It was a total curve ball!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This recipe is so easy that I was able to make it 1. while camping, and 2. with a freakin broken finger! Next time, I will probably make my own meatballs since I did not enjoy the texture of the store-bought kind, but all in all the meal was very tasty and was fresh from the stove to the plate in about 20 minutes, flat.

SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

2 bell peppers, any color, cubed (I did a trifecta of green, red and yellow)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks with juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp butter
2 lbs cooked meatballs

In a large stock pot combine butter, soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar cornstarch, ginger and vinegar until thick and bubbly. Add peppers, meatballs and pineapple chunks stirring to combine with sauce. Cook until meatballs are hot and peppers are crisp-tender. Serve over rice.


Glistening, in the sauce!

While we were chowing down, I couldn't help but think that these meatballs would make a perfect little colorful party appetizer - skewer one meatball, one pepper and one pineapple chunk and serve along side the sauce for easy dipping.