Hearty spinach and chickpea soup with turkey

Since I had "mushroom success" with my winter greens and mushroom pasta, I decided to give mushrooms another go. I had tried this recipe before, omitting the mushrooms and adding ground turkey as a protein instead. The soup was wonderful the first time. I find that some good ground turkey adds amazing flavor to soups. Anyways, I decided to make this again with both the turkey and mushrooms.

For some reason, this soup has sort of an Asian feel to me, but that is somewhat strange because it also has dried rosemary and calls for grated parmesan as garnish. Whatever feel you get from this soup, it is a really solid recipe and one that I know I will be going back to again and again. And Zack loves it too.  And it's a nice detour from my usual, go-to tomato-based chilies. 

Plus, you can be assured that this soup is good for you. According to Power Foods, mushrooms are "bursting with compounds that can reduce cholesterol and improve immunity." I didn't realize, but apparently they have not only nutritional benefits, but curative abilities also. I know, it sounds a little hokey-pokey, but they've been shown to have antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties. Guess I'll be cooking with mushrooms more often. And we all know spinach is wonderful - vitamin K, anyone? Lastly, brown rice offers up the antioxidant vitamin E, B vitamins, and plenty of fiber. There's your nutritional overview.

Hearty spinach and chickpea soup with turkey

As adapted from Power Foods - 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup short-grain brown rice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4-1 pound ground turkey

8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cleaned and thinly sliced (4 cups)

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

1/2-3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

8-10 ounces baby spinach

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Sir in brown rice, return to boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Push onion and garlic to edges of pot, add additional olive oil if necessary, and add ground turkey to middle of pot. Break up turkey into chunks with a spoon, then add dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, mixing to combine. Cook turkey until it is browned and just about cooked through, mixing in the cooked onion and garlic. Add mushrooms, gently stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Stir in rice and chickpeas; return to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and continue cooking 5 minutes more to allow flavors to blend. Stir spinach into hot soup immediately before serving and sprinkle with parmesan, if using. 

This soup was actually a little exploratory for me because I had to shift around the original instructions a bit to incorporate the ground turkey and mushrooms. I also added the crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, and chose to add the spices sooner (since I wanted them to really penetrate and flavor the ground turkey). I also "eye-balled" my rosemary and red pepper flake measurements, adding a bit more than called for, to compensate for the added turkey. What can I say, maybe I'm starting to make some of my own judgement calls and am becoming some sort of cook. (Ha ha.)

This is a great, wholesome soup with wonderful flavor. Try it and enjoy! We did.

Chili with turkey and beans

Everyone loves a good chili. Although Cooking Light's beef and beer chili is one of our go-to favorites, this Power Foods chicken chili is a contender. However, I make it with ground turkey instead of chicken pieces, just because I often have ground turkey on hand in the freezer. I also feel like the ground turkey adds some really great flavor.

Also. Be warned. This chili will make your kitchen smell like a fiesta. I take that back - it will make your whole house smell like a fiesta. Especially if you live in a small house or an apartment, for that matter. I mean, Zack walked in after work and was overcome by this simmering goodness coming from our stove. Furthermore, when I got to work the next morning, I realized that I smelled like chili because I had thrown on the same sweatshirt that I had worn while I was cooking the night before. That went in the wash pretty quick. It did smell good, but it kind of reeked of onion and the smells of cumin and chiles. You get the picture: delicious, but very fragrant.

Chili with turkey and beans

As adapted from Power Foods - 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 onions, finely chopped (about 3 cups)

5 garlic cloves, coarsely minced

1 green (or red, orange, yellow, etc.) bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped

1 3/4 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons chili powder

A heaping pinch of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 dried bay leaf

1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes

1 can (4 ounces) green chiles, drained and finely chopped

2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt, for garnish (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cumin seeds over medium, stirring, until cumin is lightly toasted and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add onions, garlic, and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Push onion mixture to edges of pot, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and increase heat to medium-high. Add ground turkey, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano; cook until turkey is browned and cooked through, breaking into chunks and stirring until spices are evenly spread throughout. Add bay leaf to pot, then add tomatoes and their juice and green chiles; stir to combine. Bring to simmer. Add stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beans; season with pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to simmer again. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, uncovered, until bean mixture thickens, about 45-50 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with yogurt and/or cilantro leaves, as desired.

Evidently, this chili has a lot of ingredients, many of which could be played around with. You could switch out the turkey for chicken or ground beef, and you could also try different varieties of beans. I would normally use green bell pepper for this recipe, but they were out at the grocery store, so I threw in a combination of orange and yellow. The options are endless!

If you need a good, but healthful chili, this one is great. Here's to good and wholesome comfort food. Cheers.