This is yet another recipe from my childhood.  It was originally named Taco Twist Soup for the spiral noodles in the soup.  I include twist in the title because the twist is making it Paleo by eliminating the cheese and pasta.  I added an additional bell pepper, and cut them in thin strips (julienne) so that they would mimic a noodle.  The result is a hearty soup, with a delicate crunch from the bell peppers cooking gently in the broth for about 30 minutes.  I may even add a third color of bell pepper next time.  The beauty of the dish is not only in its simplicity, but also the ability to play with flavors.

The original recipe called for ground beef and beef broth.  I wanted to make a slightly leaner version, so I used ground turkey and a hot chicken sausage (in a brand that doesn’t contain corn syrup).  Like many of my recipes that include ground meat, you may use whatever combination you’d like.  The flavor with the poultry meat and chicken broth was still reminiscent of the original recipe because of the basic salsa and bell peppers.

This dish can stand alone as a meal, and was delicious topped with Cauliflower Rice and guacamole.  I also have a simple guacamole recipe, but this week, the selection of avocado at the Commissary was particularly abysmal.  Instead of giving up, I picked up a package of Spicy Wholly Guacamole.  I was happy to discover that there were no preservatives!  The ingredients were even Paleo: Hass avocados, jalapeno puree (white vinegar, jalapeno peppers, salt), dehydrated onion, dehydrated red bell pepper, jalapeno powder, salt, and granulated garlic.  Even if you prefer to make guacamole from scratch, you could feel great about this product.  It also comes in two separate bags.  I had fun cutting the tip off of the first bag, and squeezing a heart design on the top of Taylor’s soup.  I know that it is a little silly, but think of how much fun your kids would have making healthy avocado designs on their plate!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey (85-15)
• 1 lb chicken sausage (I used Isernio’s Premium Hot Italian Chicken Sausage)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 2 tsp minced garlic)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 box (4 cups) low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups salsa (I used Tostitos Medium Salsa)
• 28oz organic diced tomatoes
• 1 green pepper, (julienned) thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
• optional: tabasco, to taste

Instructions

• 1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt coconut oil on medium heat
• 2. Brown ground turkey and sausage (about 10 minutes), then with a slotted spoon remove meat and place in a separate bowl
• 3. In the drippings from the meat, cook onion until translucent
• 4. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin until incorporated
• 5. Add meat back into pan, then broth, tomato, salsa and peppers
• 6. Turn down stove to medium-low, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes
• 7. Grab and spoon and enjoy!