Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles {and some words of advice}

Do not, do NOT put a towel in your laundry basin IF your washing machine drains INTO said laundry basin.

I consider myself a fairly smart and on-top-of-things girl. You know, type-A, (almost) always on time, got my doctorate, not always a slacker. Fairly smart. At least average intelligence. However, I learned this lesson the hard way in our new house.

All my life I’ve had a washing machine that drained straight into the floor drain or whatever. So every time I would wipe something up with a rag (HELLO I have toddlers so I wipe something up at least 18 times a day), I would throw that rag into the laundry sink. Easy. Kept the mess down and I could simply add the rag to the washing machine when I did my next load of towels.

Never have I had a washing machine that drains INTO the sink. Well, n0w I do. So here I am, minding my own business in my kitchen getting ready for OUR HOUSEWARMING PARTY when I hear a not-normal sound coming from our main-floor laundry room. You know, a sound like the sound of a waterfall. Oh hey, that’s water pouring onto the floor because there is a towel in the laundry basin plugging the drain. CRAP. Luckily I was home and had a huge stack of clean towels on the dryer that I threw on the floor to soak up some of the water. Crisis averted.

Oh wait. I go into the basement. The finished basement. The ONLY part of the house that we didn’t need to do any work on. Oh no, water dripping through the ceiling!

So now we have a hole in our (finished) basement ceiling. The water has been dried but we need to get a contractor in to fix the drywall. Thousssssands of dollars, people. ALL BECAUSE OF A STUPID TOWEL.

(I should take a minute to note that my husband is truly a saint and treated me with such love throughout this whole thing that was totally my fault. I’m a lucky lady. “It was a mistake.” “It’s just money.” “I love you more than ever.” Just so happens I love you more than ever too, Ben. Thank you for being you.)

Oh, and did I mention this happened two days before we were having a housewarming party and E’s 4th birthday party? But to add to the chaos, we were in the ER with N because poor little man had a 104.4 degree fever that didn’t respond to Motrin. (N’s 3rd visit to the ER if you’re keeping count.)

So we had two terrific reasons to postpone the party. Which I had worked my butt off getting ready for. (Remember when I told you all about my purple butterfly plans?)

Life. Oh well. It is what it is. I’m thankful to have a nice house even if it gives me headaches. And I’m thankful to have birthday parties to cancel and kids to take care of even if it means very, very, very late nights in the ER.

It could be worse. As a matter of fact, in church today they brought up a prayer request — a 31 year old woman who had two small children just got put in hospice care because of her brain cancer.

Hospice. Brain cancer. 31. The same age as me. 2 small children. Same as me. Hits close to home and suddenly that hole in the basement ceiling is looking pretty darn good.

I feel weird talking about the soup now.  But seeing as I haven’t posted a real recipe since last Monday, I’d say it’s time to get my rear in gear. So soup it is. We’ll call it turkey soup for the soul. Because who doesn’t need that?

This turkey soup with zucchini noodles is a variation of my popular Italian Turkey Soup with Beans, Tomatoes and Spinach.  And this soup also comes together in 20 minutes! Woo hoo!

Brown up some ground turkey, throw in some spices, a can of tomatoes, some zucchini noodles, and some spinach. Done. Dinner time!

This will become a healthy go-to weeknight meal. It’s Whole30 compliant and low calorie. Your whole family will love it. And no worries — if you don’t have a spiralizer, buy one! Just kidding, you can easily julienne the zucchini with a mandoline or you can also cut it thinly with a knife. Same taste, different look.

Quick and easy soup recipes

If you’re looking for more soup recipes that don’t have to be simmered all day long, I’ve got you covered! Try:

• Pancetta and White Bean Soup with Kale
• Red Lentil Soup Recipe (a family favorite!)
• Creamy Tomato Soup with Whole Wheat Orzo
• Shortcut Squash Soup
• Carrot Ginger Soup (Whole30 and vegan)
• Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
• Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (stovetop or Instant Pot)
• Pumpkin Curry Soup (ready in 20 minutes)

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles

4.50 from 4 votes

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

4 servings

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This turkey soup with zucchini noodles comes together in 20 minutes — it will end up in your weekly rotation.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, minced
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• ▢ 3 heaping loosely packed cups baby spinach
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 2 medium-sized zucchini, [spiralized] or julienned
• ▢ salt to taste

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey with the onions, garlic, salt, and pepper until the turkey is cooked through and the onions are translucent (about 7 minutes).
• Add the oregano and tomatoes (with liquid). Stir to combine.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, add spinach and cover for about 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Stir to combine.
• Add broth, stir, and increase heat to medium high. Once simmering, add zucchini and continue to cook until heated through and zucchini starts to soften – about 3-5 minutes.

Notes

• Gluten-free and Whole30 compliant (make sure the chicken broth you use is Whole30 compliant).

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1of 4, Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 43g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Sodium: 388mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 12g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk