Turkey Orzo Soup

The weather is going to get warmer soon (I hope) so I need to get the rest of my new soup recipes made so we're not eating soup in the middle of July. 

I also picked a fresh batch of spinach from my garden on Saturday and I could hardly wait to try it.  I ate a lot of it in salads but I wanted to try some in my soup as well. 

I couldn't think of a better way to highlight my home grown spinach than in this turkey orzo soup. 

Turkey Orzo Soup
1 Tablespoon oil
12 ounces 93% ground turkey
1 Tablespoon oregano
4 sliced baby bella mushrooms
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
3/4 cup orzo pasta
3 cups spinach

Just in case you are not familiar with Orzo - let me introduce you.  Orzo is essentially a pasta - made from semolina - just like spaghetti.  It's cut to look more like rice than pasta though so it throws people for a loop when they see it in the grocery store.  It comes in both white and whole wheat varieties and it's perfect for soups.  It cooks quickly and it gives vegetable soups a little bit of that hearty chew to sink your teeth into.  (Did that even make sense?)

Heat oil in skillet.  Add turkey and cook until browned.

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Add oregano, mushroom and garlic.  Cook 5 minutes.

Add stock, water, salt, red pepper and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil. 

Add orzo and cook 7 minutes.

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Serve.

Stir in spinach and serve.

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Making the most of these chilly February days with some hot bowls of delicious soup.   It won't be long before we're cranking up the air conditioner to try and keep cool.

Ciao!