Quinoa Basil Soup

Creativity…is not one of my many, many gifts in life.  I am a good, nay, excellent instruction follower.  I prefer activities that provide structure and direction, such as: cooking (from a recipe), cross-stitching, exercise CLASSES, coloring etc.  I will read the entire manual when putting together a bookshelf from IKEA.  This is where I thrive.

Because of this, I am so proud of the fact that I do, indeed, have an original soup recipe to share.  Not only is it original; it is healthy AND delicious.

This recipe started out as a tortellini soup, but thanks to my Mother and her insanely strict healthy eating habits, 80% of the ingredients in the original soup were things she would never, ever consume.  One substitute at a time (and a horrible onion incident) the tortellini soup morphed in to what it is today: Quinoa Basil Soup.  Yes, I know the name is not creative, what did you expect from me?

Ingredients:

2 tbs butter

2-3 cloves garlic

8 cups chicken broth

1 lb ground turkey

Parmesan cheese

28oz can stewed tomatoes

1 bag baby spinach

1 box of Trader Joe’s basil

1 cups cooked quinoa

4 zucchini

2 tbs poultry seasoning

Salt

Pepper

A few caveats:  This is how the recipe is written, but I don’t always follow it exactly.

• Garlic-I probably use 6 cloves of garlic because I lurv garlic.  Use at your own discretion.
• Butter-I use a LOT of butter.  See above.  I also lurrrrv butter.
• Chicken broth-you are entitled to whatever chicken broth you want, but Trader Joes range free is the best.  Your choice.
• Basil-if you don’t want to or cannot go to Trader Joe’s then use about 2 cups of basil, don’t cut up the leave, just keep ‘em whole.
• Onions-do not EVER, upon pain of death, use onions in this soup.  I am a huge fan of onions, the hugest…but once upon a time my dear, dear mother added onions and we literally threw the soup away because it was so horrible.  So DON’T.
• Spinach-I pack in as much as I can fit because the spinach cooks down.

Now you are ready.

1. Melt butter and in a large sauce pan.  Add garlic, sauté until golden; about two minutes.  Add ground turkey, half of the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to taste-cook until turkey is browned. 
2. Stir in chicken broth, remaining poultry seasoning and bring to boil.
3. While the broth is heating, blend tomatoes to desired consistency.  Personally, I cannot stand chunks of canned tomato.  No, just…no.  I blend the tomatoes to a frothy liquid.  Once your tomatoes are blended, add to the turkey and broth mixture and once again bring to a boil. 
4. Add sliced zucchini and simmer on low until tender.
5. Stir in cooked quinoa, spinach and basil.  Simmer until the basil and spinach is cooked to desired consistency (I like my spinach to be a bit wilted).
6. Serve and garish with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper as needed.

I usually eat so much of this soup that I think I am going to die.  Just a warning.