May 17

May 17 Turkey Meatball and Veggie Soup

**PICTURES UPDATED MAY 2021**

I swear this is the last comfort food/soup recipe of the season! This soup is just too good and full of flavor to not share with y'all. This is so perfect to make and freeze for a night you need a simple lunch or dinner. Because sometimes soup is the only thing you want. Especially if allergies or a summer cold has you down and out, like I am down with!

As I have mentioned before, meatballs are king in our house, protein my kids will actually eat! This has tons of little turkey meatballs, veggies, and broth to warm your soul. To feed my kids, I just drain the broth out and give them the meatballs and veggies to chow down on. This makes a large batch because I love to have leftovers in the freezer. So make this, eat it, freeze it, and enjoy some goodness.

Turkey Meatball and Veggie Soup

Inspired by Savory Lotus

Meatballs

2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup onion, finely diced
2 large eggs, beaten
5 tablespoons almond flour
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon Italian herbs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 large sweet potato, diced
6 large carrots, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
4 cups kale, destemmed and chopped
12 cups (96 oz) chicken or vegetable broth
4 bay leaves
3 tablespoons oil (olive, avocado, coconut)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground pepper

- To make the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix until all combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicon baking mat. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon measuring spoon, form the meatballs and arrange on the baking sheet. Put a little oil on hands then go back through and roll into tight meatballs.

- Broil the meatballs for 10 minutes, take out and flip each meatball over and place back under the broiler for an additional 5 minutes

- While the meatballs are cooking, start on the soup in the largest pot you have. Heat the oil medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and bell peppers, cook until softened. Add the sweet potato, broth, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer, add the cooked meatballs into the soup. Once the sweet potato is tender, add the kale and wait for it to wilt. Season with salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as needed. Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving.

The meatballs are simple and delicious. You could also make extras of these to have in the freezer for easy proteins for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Beat the eggs, chop the onions as small as you can, then dump all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix. Get in there with your hands! Use a scoop to make small meatballs and place them on a covered baking sheet. Roll the meatballs with your hands to make smooth balls, put a little oil on your hands to help combat the meat stickies!

Broil these babies for a few minutes, then flip over to broil a couple minutes more. This is the point you can cool and freeze them if you want.

Next get all these gorgeous vegetables chopped and ready for the soup pot. I had a small white and orange sweet potato each, so I used that in place of a large sweet.

Peppers, onions, and carrots start in the pot since they take a while to soften and brown. Then add the sweet potatoes, broth, and meatballs. Cook until those taters are soft!