Road to Morocco!

So.... it's official:  I'm obsessed with ground turkey :)  I feel like it's super easy/fast to cook and you can do so many different things with it.  I've made delicious turkey burgers, made a minced turkey pasta dish and today I tried my hand at meatballs!  Yep, I'm obsessed and I'm ok with that!  So I wanted to do SOMETHING with meatballs and I kept seeing recipes for spaghetti with meatballs in marinara/tomato sauce.  Don't judge me, but I'm really not a fan of marinara on spaghetti/meatballs.  I think I just remember those canned/bottled sauces that are really sweet and remind me too much of ketchup.  So I wanted to avoid that all together and look for a stew of sorts.  I'm so glad I did because the recipe I found is phenomenal with all its amazing Moroccan spices and I urge all meatball fans to try this out!  It's wholesome, hearty, comforting and HEALTHY!

Moroccan Turkey Meatball Soup

Adapted from a recipe by (Mostly) Healthy Mom
Prep time: 20 minutes  |  Cooking time:  40 minutes

Soup Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 large tomato (or 2 medium tomatoes), diced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 9-10 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used 10 cups of water with organic low-sodium chicken boullions)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach
• 1/4 cup of dried lentils/beans (I used this- http://www.truroots.com/p.aspx?Cont=Products&id=13)

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes.  
2. Add cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika. Then add diced tomatoes and chickpeas.  
3. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas.  
4. Then add the stock, sugar, and salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil.
5. While the soup is getting to a boil, make the meatballs by combining ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, and the spices/salt.  
6. Form small 1 inch meatballs and drop into the boiling soup.  
7. Then bring soup down to a simmer, and let simmer for about 25 minutes.
8. After 25 minutes, add quinoa and spinach, and let cook for another 15 minutes. 
9. Ensure the meatballs and quinoa have cooked thoroughly before serving!