Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash Soup

Ground White Turkey with Vegetables and Butternut Squash Soup

Cooked Ground Turkey Mixture Served with Cooked Brown Rice

Quick meal utilizing leftovers

How I prepared three meals from one main recipe and enjoyed every one of them!

On a cool, rainy day I decided to prepare my favorite fall soup recipe, Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup.

Here is the link to this recipe from my Blog:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8505913197660197866#editor/target=post;postID=3500940049654445869

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

(smooth, creamy and non-dairy)

Spices in my Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

These Spices bring intense flavor and heat to the pureed soup.

With leftover soup for the next day, I wanted to prepare a hearty dinner using the leftover soup so I got the idea to cook some ground white meat turkey (can use ground beef instead if you choose), saute some onions, carrots, celery and red peppers making a larger amount of the mixture to serve to the family. The sauce, leftover cooked soup from the refrigerator, was added to the ground turkey mixture, warmed up with the ground turkey and vegetables. This mixture now became a thick, hearty, flavorful meal with very little effort during the cooking process.

Now with the larger amount of cooked, ground turkey mixture, I still had some for leftovers the next day and served this with a side dish of cooked brown rice. Yum!!!

How wonderful to use one soup recipe for three separate meals! A little creativity and having produce in the refrigerator and meat on hand in the freezer makes cooking at home enjoyable and rewarding. I might add the word "impressive" to those tasting these meals for the first time. 



Turkey Balls

Update on variety of ingredients in Turkey Ball Recipe

(4/8/13)

Updated photo by The Souper for Turkey Balls using the ingredients shown above.

(4/8/13)



Turkey Balls by The Souper (photo from first, original recipe.)

How do you make a favorite comfort food a little healthier? Without losing texture and flavor, all you have to do is switch from using ground beef to a good quality ground turkey, of course! That said, you will need to spice the turkey balls up with add-ins or cooking them in a flavored sauce. Update to this recipe: A wonderful pairing of flavor is to add White Horseradish and Sweet Pepper Relish. Yum. Note: I use Gluten-free Horseradish.

The first time I prepared a ground turkey dish was tossing the rounded balls of fresh ground turkey and cooking them in a spicy, sweet and sour sauce in a large pot on the stove top. These were a big hit with guests and of course the turkey balls with sauce partnered well with rice or couscous for a complete plateful.

To cook a very simple, tasty version of turkey balls, I prepared fresh ground turkey with ingredients as if preparing a meatloaf. Everyone has their own version of meatloaf, but I find using Panko Bread Crumbs to be an ingredient giving a meat or turkey mixture some body so the compacted meat does not become too dense. By baking the seasoned ground turkey balls, one saves some calories by avoiding a frying process for cooking.

These baked ground turkey balls can be served as an appetizer with a favorite dipping sauce or served as a main dish along side of a healthy carb and a side salad. Either way, these tiny balls of comfort are satisfying to the palate and are fun to eat.

Basic Recipe:

What you will need:
Lage mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
Fork or Whisk
Wooden spoon
Lage baking sheet
Parchment paper
Spatula or cooking tongs
Pot holders
Large serving platter or large serving bowl

Ingredients:
Fresh ground turkey, one pound
One whole egg OR Two eggwhites
Ketchup, 1/4 cup
Worcestshire Sauce, 1/4 cup
Kosher salt, one teaspoon
Black pepper, one teaspoon, crushed
Smoked Paprika, one teaspoon
Panko Bread Crumbs, 3/4 cups or more for consistancy to form balls
Optional: add an herb or choice or chopped, fresh spinach
Update to recipe:
Horseradish, white, 1/4 cup (or more for personal taste.)
Sweet Pepper Relish, 1/4 cup (or more for personal taste.)

The Cooking Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook turkey balls for about 20-30 minutes until they are slightly browned. Do not overcook or they will be too dry.

With the fresh ground turkey in a large bowl, add a well-mixed egg (or only eggwhites) from the small bowl that has been mixed with the fork or whisk.
To the turkey egg mixture, add the remaining ingredients and mix with the wooden spoon to a consistancy to form a small ball with clean heands.
Continue to form balls of mixture and put them on a lined baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put the baking sheet into the preheated oven to bake.
Check often to make sure the turkey balls are not browning too much.
When the turkey balls look browned on the top, shut the oven off and remove the baking sheet from the oven.
Remove the turkey balls on to a clean platter.