Turkey Vegetable Rice Soup

 

Hi Friends, as I work towards this fitness journey sometimes I hit a bump in the road. Such is life right? Well this last week my 2 year old and I got sick, not terribly so but enough for us to cuddle up, watch a lot of Doc McStuffins and eat soup. But just because this Momma is sick doesn't mean I stop eating healthy. No sir, this is a lifestyle change for always, not just when life is easy. And I really really wanted my Grandma's Hamburger Vegetable Barley Soup, but I wanted to try to update it and make it fit my diet now, and also customize it to be made in my Instant Pot! (I love this machine!!)

As some of you may know, we lost my Grandma last year, and if you scroll through this blog and my old recipes there is so much of her you will see flowing through those old posts. She is where I got my love for cooking, and so much of my personality. She was also an avid reader of my blog for years, I still have emails from her telling me her thoughts, sending me new recipes, and full of her love, grace and mercy. Anyone who had the privilege to know my Grandma knows what I'm talking about. She was a woman who loved God first her whole life, adored her husband of 66 years who adored her back. Loving Mother and devoted Grandma to all 17 of us grandkids. She is the embodiment of a Proverbs 31 Woman, 

"Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lordis to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

Proverbs 31:28-31

I can't help but someday want to be like her, sassy, full of fire, gracious, loving and wise. So in some ways this blog is a long dedication to her, and days like today I wish she were here to make me a giant batch of her soup and let her humor soothe my soul. But I have her words and her recipes, and I'm so happy to be able to share this one with you! The flavor is the same, it's just slightly healthier and I've got container counts for those doing Portion Fix like me!

Serving size is 2 cups.

Portion Fix Container counts: 1 Red, 1.5 Green and 1 Yellow

Ingredients:
2 TBS. Olive Oil

1 lbs. Ground Turkey (93% fat free)

4 cups Unsalted Beef Broth
1 cups Coarsely Chopped Celery
2 cups Coarsely Chopped Bell Peppers

1 cup Diced Onion
1/2 cup Brown Rice
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 cup Unsweetened Ketchup (Primal brand is fantastic!)
28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes


Directions:
First chop up all your vegetables and set aside. 

Set instant pot to Saute for 15 minutes.

Add your ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbled.

Next add in your chopped vegetables and let cook down for a couple of minutes. 

Turn off saute mode and add in the remaining ingredients. 

Set to Pressure Cook for 12 minutes on high pressure.

Let instant pot auto release pressure for 10 minutes, then manually release the rest. 

Fish out the bay leaves, and serve warm.

This soup also freezes beautifully. I buy 2 cup containers to portion this out into and freeze. Makes a great easy meal prep recipe too!