We are closing in on the end of the month, and that means our pantry and fridge are looking dismal. Couple that with the fact that we are finally seeing some chilly fall weather here in the desert, and it has me craving ALL the soups! I peeked into my fridge and found a bunch of produce that needed to be used before it gets tossed, a pound of ground turkey I had saved from when I made my Sautéed Mushroom Turkey Burgers, plus some on hand pantry staples. You know those dinners where everyone is quiet because they are so busy eating they don’t talk? This got me one of those. It’s that good!
First gather up your ingredients. For the soup, I used:
*6 C Chicken broth
*8 oz mushrooms
*6 baby gold potatoes
*1 carrot (I only had 1 carrot, I recommend using 2-3)
*2 stalks celery
*1/2 C half and half
*1/2 onion
*1.5 tsp (each) garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
*1 tsp celery seed
*Salt and pepper to taste
*parsley garnish
For the turkey meatballs:
*1 lb ground turkey
*1/4 C breadcrumbs
*1 egg
*1Tbsp chopped parsley
*1 tsp (each) garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
*Salt and pepper to taste
Last week I had some pieces of my 6 Ingredient Sandwich Bread that was about to go stale. I cubed it and baked it at 350° until crispy and then placed it in an air tight container. This recipe was a great chance to use it! I just tossed a handful in my Ninja blender and pulsed until crumbly. Perfect homemade breadcrumbs!
Once you have your meat mixture well combined, form your meatballs. I just eyeballed it, but I wanted them to be fairly small. A small cookie scoop would be a great way to make sure they all come out uniform in size, but we aren’t after perfection here at the Murphy house. Place all of your meatballs in a large skilled and let them brown on all sides. They don’t have to be fully cooked on the inside since they will finish cooking in the crock pot, but you will want that nice brown crust on the outside.
While your meatballs are cooking, start prepping your veggies. I chopped everything into a nice dice and then pat myself on the back for not letting so many veggies go to waste (and getting my kids to eat them!)
Then add them all to your crock pot.
Cover with your chicken broth and spices. I only had 5 C of broth in my container (again, cleaning out the fridge) so I just added 1 C of water to the mix. No harm no foul, right?
Add in your cooked meatballs and stir everything together. I was worried that my meatballs may fall apart in the crock pot if I added them in the beginning, but they held up great. Once everything is combined, place your lid on your crock pot and set to high for 4 hours (or low for 6-7 if you’re starting it earlier in the day). I let this sit most of the time, only stirring it twice (mostly because it smelled so great I needed a reason to put my face in it).
At the 3.5 hour mark, I added 1/2 C of half and half and gave it a good stir. Cover once again and let it cook for a half hour longer. This is the time I used to bake up some butter bread slices to dip into our bowls. Because toasted carbs dipped in warm soup broth=the definition of fall comfort food.
And there you have it! All that’s left is to ladle some into a pretty bowl, garnish with some fresh chopped parsley, and take a picture for the ‘gram.
Murphy Party of 4 