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Friends, I’m gonna be really honest for a second. I am SICK of soup for lunch. There. I said it. This New Hampshire winter has been absolutely unrelenting. We are going on our SEVENTH month of cold temps up here. And we are not okay. Generally, I’m happy with the changing seasons, the changing weather and all the beauty that goes along with it. I was even fortunate to have been able to escape this winter weather not just once but twice. And still, I am over it. And as yummy and satisfying as all of my soups have been, I’m tired of them. But it’s just not warm enough yet to move back to cold salads for lunch. So, I came up with this dish. Warm and satisfying, and hitting the comfort food spots without being too heavy. Chock full of veggie goodness and healthy carbs for good measure. This made enough for my lunches this week, with the dire hopes of springtime salads next week.

• 20 ounces ground turkey
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 3 cups chopped spinach
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds

Place diced tomatoes, carrots, spinach and zucchini with seasoning into instant pot and cook on pressure cook setting for 20 minutes. Heat skillet and brown ground turkey. Add cooked brown rice to cooked turkey. Sprinkle mozzarella, then add cooked vegetable mixture. Mix together until cheese is melted.

If you don’t have an instant pot, just cook your veggies in a sautee pan. And if you don’t have one, WHY NOT? They are a game-changer in the home cooking arena and so versatile–not a week goes by that I don’t use mine at least once…by contrast, I’ll go weeks if not months without using my crock pot. Just sayin’. But I’m not the boss of you, so you do you, Boo.

Anywho, as always, be as creative as you want with the veggies. Add in whatever you like, (unless you’re having me over and you want to add peas – We’ve talked about this), skip what you don’t. Swap out the turkey for chicken or grass-fed beef. Or leave out the meat altogether if you’re vegan and use chick peas instead. Or not. Like I said, I’m not the boss of you. Play around with seasoning blends. Add more garlic or onion or basil. If you’d rather, switch out the brown rice for sweet potato or brown rice pasta, just be mindful of the amount you use. And I would recommend waiting until you’re ready to serve before adding the pasta–it tends to absorb the moisture and may get mushy on you. As always, sky’s the limit.

Try it and let me know how it went, or if you changed it up at all.