turkey and spinach meatballs in soup

i always make my own vegetable soup but the other day i saw a recipe for chicken and spinach meatballs and i decided to try them together. i did substitute the chicken for ground turkey.

the soup (we make a very large batch to eat all week long)

2 large sweet onions cut into a 1/4 inch dice
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 celery ribs with leaves cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 medium size zucchini (green or yellow or a combination) cut into 1/2 inch long
by 1/4 inch wide slices
about 30 cherry tomatoes whole
16 ounces of sliced white mushrooms or your favorite
12 ounces of sugar snap peas cut in half
3 14 ounce cans of beans, drained. (i used, chick, red kidney and navy
2 tbls sugar
about 2 to 4 tbls veg oil for fryng
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (see note below)
1 cup sherry cooking wine

in a large soup pot add the onions, oil and sugar and stir to coat. cook under med high heat until the onions begin to brown and then add the rest of the vegetables except the zucchini and the mushrooms. stir the pot good and then add the wine and cook for another five minutes and then add the beans and the stock. bring to a boil, lower heat to a med and add the zucchini and the mushrooms

for the meatballs
1 slice rustic bread crusts removed and cut into very small pieces
1 8 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
about 20 ounces of ground turkey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
veg oil for frying



combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix throughly with your hands. form small meatablls and place on a cookie sheet. when done add some oil in a fry pan and cook meatballs until they are slightly brown. with a slotted spoon remove them and place in the pot of soup and stir to blend. continue cooking the soup with the meatballs for another 15 minutes.

the soup is cooking right now and i can smell the wonderful aroma from my computer room. i just tasted it and is is very good.



note - quick chicken stock - when using boneless, skinless chicken breasts i always have to clean them up a little to remove the fat and the veins that run along the side of each breasts. i decided to save them to make a quick stock. i cut a couple of carrots in half, (don't even peel them) a couple of celery stalks cut into pieces and about 1/2 an onion. i throw them in a pot along with the chicken scraps and cover with water by two inches or so. bring to a boil and then simmer for 2 hours. drain, discard vegetables and when cool pour the liquid in a container and either refrigerate or freeze. before using you can easily scrape away the fat.

i had to re-edit this as the recipe called for 1/2 tsp of cinnamon instead of ginger
but afer having it for dinner last night we woulde leave out the cinnamon the next time we make it.

















This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 9:20 AM

This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 9:23 AM

This message was edited Apr 12, 2010 6:53 AM