EAT- Smokey Tomato, Ground Turkey, White Beans and Greens (Slow Cooker) Soup (Warm Me Up Soup!+ recipe video)

Well, it is officially winter here in New York.  I walked 3 blocks to the grocery store today and froze my little fingers off.  Winter is a time of introspection, we spend more time indoors, we tend to get more peaceful, quiet.  Peace and quiet in New York City is always a miraculous thing, so I like to take some time in the winter to relish this sensation.  Calm down a little… slow down a lot!  Enter the marvelous slow cooker.

I love using my slow cooker on cold winter days, all day I know there is a warm bowl of something amazing waiting for me.  This is one of my go to recipes, it has all the elements;  a little protein, a little smokey (have you caught on yet that I LOVE smokey??) a lot of greens, YUM!

The video is a mere 4 minutes, which is exactly how long it will take you to put this meal together.  I also talk you through a few important points… including what to watch out for when buying ground turkey!  (If you are impatient… and not into the video thing, the recipe is below… I’ve always got you covered)

What is your favorite cold day recipe?  Do you use a slow cooker?  I’d love to hear all about it!

Turkey, Tomato, and Greens Soup (Slow Cooker)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Organic Ground Turkey (white)
• 1 Onion – chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic – chopped
• 1 Can Organic White Beans
• 1 Can Organic Diced Tomato
• 2 Cups Organic Fire Roasted Crushed Tomato
• 4 Cups Kale – bite size pieces
• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 4 Cups Organic Chicken Stock
• 3 Cups Organic Baby Spinach

TOOLS:

• Slow Cooker

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Brown ground turkey, leaving the turkey in larger chunks
2. Add turkey to slow cooker (I have a slow cooker that I can brown in, if you do not, brown the turkey in a pan on the stove then add to cooker) then add all ingredients EXCEPT spinach
3. Stir well, be sure all ingredients are well coated w/ seasoning
4. Cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours)
5. When finished add spinach, stir and serve.  OR…. if you want to save this soup for a few days add the spinach to bowls and top with soup.  The soup will keep better in the fridge without the spinach in it.
6. OPTIONAL — Top w/ grated parmesan

(Video Transcript)

Hi, I’m Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com and this is my kale obsession. I’m making ground turkey, kale, and spinach soup in a slow cooker. Let’s get started. Look at this bounty of nutrients. This is awesome. So, what I have going on is, in my slow cooker I have browned one pound of ground white turkey breast. I use a little bit of olive oil in the pan to get this started. And, I want to talk turkey for just a minute. Here is what’s bothering me about ground turkey: A lot of ground turkey in the store says, “minimally processed”. As far as I’m concerned, ground turkey shouldn’t be processed at all. So, if you can’t find ground turkey that doesn’t say minimally processed, pick up a turkey breast, and take it to your butcher, and ask him to grind it for you. There’s no reason to add any kind of processing to something like ground turkey. All they need to do is take a turkey breast and grind it. That’s it. If you can’t find a butcher that does that for you, you can take a turkey breast–a raw turkey breast–stick it in your food processor for a couple of whirls, and you’ve got ground turkey. Ok? So, one pound of ground turkey. I kept the turkey meat a little bit larger, because that’s going to work better in a slow cooker, because this is going to cook for four to eight hours. Ok? So, I’m adding to my ground turkey one diced onion. Don’t you love a slow cooker? You just throw everything in and turn it on. One can of white cannellini beans. This is two cups of fire-roasted crush tomato. This is a great ingredient. I love these. You can find them, pretty much, at any store. So, they’re fire-roasted–really gorgeous smoky flavor. That was two cups. This is a large can of diced tomatoes. This is going to make a lot. This will feed you for the week. My kind of slow cooker recipe. Garlic, three cloves chopped. And let’s get spicy. I have one teaspoon of smoked paprika. If you haven’t worked with smoked paprika before, you should run to the store, find some, buy it, and start using it in your kitchen. It is my all-time favorite spice. It just smells so glorious and incredible, so I’m putting one teaspoon of smoked paprika, and I’m putting half a teaspoon of regular red paprika. Smoked paprika is a Spanish product. The red paprika I’m using is Hungarian paprika. Crushed red pepper–I’m just going to put a pinch. A little bit of heat in this soup works really well. And we need salt. We definitely need salt. It’s a soup. So, a teaspoon of salt. We definitely need black pepper, because I put black pepper in everything–’bout a half a teaspoon. And then, what I have in this pitcher is organic chicken broth. Organic free-range chicken broth–this is four cups. Add four cups to here. And we can’t forget about our greens because that’s what’s going to really impart tons of nutrients. This is four cups of chopped kale. And what’s great about kale in a soup is that it holds up really well. It’s a bit of a tougher green, in that sense. It can stand longer cooking times. So, we’re going to let this kale go. So, I’m just going to stir this all together. I have spinach here. Here is what to do with your spinach: This, if I put this in now, would literally turn the entire soup to mush. So, don’t do that with spinach. You can make anything in a slow cooker. And if you want spinach in it, literally, when everything is finished, take the top off, add the spinach, and that’s it. Serve the soup. It takes 30 seconds, that’s all. So, I’m going to stir this up. Make sure all of those flavors are well incorporated. Then, the best part about a slow cooker: I put the top on, I set it for “high” for four hours, or “low” for eight hours, I walk away, and I do whatever I want. And in four to eight hours I have a delicious nourishing meal ready for me. So, don’t forget at the very end, you’re going to throw your spinach in. But that’s it. We’ve got ground turkey, kale, and spinach soup in a slow cooker. I’m Abra Pappa from NutritiousAmerica.com. Eat your greens and have a delicious day.