With Thanksgiving being this past weekend, I hope everyone had a wonderful time eating all the food possible and spending time with family and friends, I know I most certainly did. Since I was traveling I went on a little hiatus due to the fact that things can get a little hectic over the holidays and I felt like I didn’t even get a chance to sit down much. Only on the plane did I sit for an extended amount of time and I doubt I have to convince anyone here how uncomfortable that is. Nonetheless, I had a great Thanksgiving full of family, food, and even got to go to the beach!
Returning to Colorado from Florida was a big change in temperature and it was necessary to cook something warm for the cold weather. Enter in this turkey, kale, and brown rice soup. I also decided it was time to make this soup because of all the indulgent food that I have gorged on for the past 5 days. A healthy meal was desperately needed and this recipe is full of veggies!
Carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, and kale to be exact. Not to mention it’s made with ground turkey and brown rice which are two things I never feel guilty about eating. You could of course swap out the ground turkey for another ground meat of your choosing and swap the brown rice for another grain like quinoa. I like this combination though because the brown rice adds a nice nuttiness and turkey is always my go to ground meat of choice.
What is especially great about this soup is that it doesn’t take much time to make. While the brown rice is cooking you can prep everything else needed. It can also be made in advance and set aside until ready to reheat and eat.
At the end, this soup gets a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese which takes the soup to a whole new level if you ask me. So be sure not to forget it!
Turkey, Kale, & Brown Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup brown rice
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small (or half a large) onion, diced
- 1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into about ½ inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots, cut into about ½ inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon herbs de provence
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less depending on desired spiciness level)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups kale, roughly chopped
- 32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan bring water to boil. Add in brown rice, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is cooked through. Set aside.
- Add olive oil to a large pot over medium heat, once hot add in onion, carrots, and peppers. Cook for 7-8 minutes until veggies are slightly softened and onion is translucent. Add in minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add ground turkey into pot and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook for another 7-8 minutes, or until turkey is completely browned.
- Next, mix in the herbs de Provence, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Add can of tomatoes and stir until combined. Add in kale and allow to wilt for about 3 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth along and also add in the cooked brown rice. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Finish soup by adding in the chopped parsley and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
The beach? Wow you are lucky, I had to cook for a large group all week. I call them the
Eaters; they descend on my little corner of paradise every holiday and eat and eat.
But it was fun…sort of.
Anyway, that’s a nice soup for a snowy day.