There hasn’t been much of a winter down here in Tennessee. Take yesterday for example. It was 64 degrees outside! In the middle of February! This weather is just crazy. We have had the odd day or two of really cold temperatures. We actually had some snow last week…briefly. I took that opportunity to make this recipe that I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks now.
So, maybe I’ve told you before that there are only 2 grocery stores in my small town. One is a local chain that does their best, but is a little expensive. (I go there to buy “weird” things like balsamic vinegar or Romaine lettuce). The other grocery is a Save-a-Lot, which I do most of my shopping at. I consider it an adventure to shop at Save-a-Lot and I have found some really great things there. Last week I found fresh mozzarella and queso fresco. They periodically have Cornish game hens and a 15lb sack of the biggest dang baking potatoes I have ever seen.
Hey, you move out to the middle of no where and then see what you get excited about finding at the grocery store.
So anyway, on a recent shopping expedition I came across this bag of alphabet pasta for $.47 each. How much fun is alphabet pasta?! It’s practically a barrel of monkeys if you ask me, so I bought two bags. I turned one bag into this yummy vegetable soup. I added some ground turkey ( $1 per pound at ye ol’ Save-a-Lot) and made it even more yummy. And the kids loved it too.
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 lb . ground turkey
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 stalk of celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 t . Italian seasoning
- ½ t . thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t . salt
- ½ t . pepper
- 1 quart beef stock
- 1 quart can tomato paste mixed with 1 hot water 6oz.
- 1 oz can each of green beans and kernel corn drained, 15 .
- 1 t . sugar optional
- 1 package dried alphabet pasta or other small pasta 7oz
- ½ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add turkey, onion, carrot and celery and cook until the turkey is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and seasoning and cook for another minute. Pour in stock, tomato paste mixture, beans and corn. Taste the soup. If it’s a little bitter, add sugar. Heat to boiling. Add in the pasta and cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring often. Add in the peas and allow to heat through, 3-4 minutes. Serve with a salad or a grilled cheese sandwich.
hey Jodie, I know ye ol’ Save-a -Lot, we have one right down the street, I run in there from time to time and you are right, it is a more that a barrel of monkeys, I actually think the produce, like the potatoes, runs a tad fresher than the higher chain stores… at least when you catch it on day one!
what I like is the Latin mix of ingredients too, like the queso and the can goods, so much cheaper that the specialty stores…
I like your soup, with any type of pasta, this would make one hearty meal…
This is a lovely soup and your post was really interesting. I don’t have a similar store but can guess what a blessing it would be. This is my first visit to your blog, so I spent some time browsing through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary