Yesterday, I received what I call a "happy accident." I had ordered some red cabbage from a new Farmers' Market doorstep delivery company that I'm newly obsessed with so I could make some of my braised red cabbage. However, when I went to check my delivery bag and its contents, I discovered a big green cabbage in its place. Now instead of emailing them to correct the situation, I decided to just try and make the best of what I had received. So, what the frig was I going to make with green cabbage...?!
Well, it just so happens that I have an audition at the end of the week because recently I've decided to ease my way back into "the business" when I'm not blogging. Auditions are a great reminder that I need to slim down, lol. You want to feel slender and good about yourself when your "in the room," so what better way to kick-off my slim down routine than with cabbage soup?! We've all heard of those infamous cabbage soup diets, but if I was going to try a few days of eating cabbage soup, then it better be good...
I decided to make my cabbage soup with lean ground turkey and make it crock pot style so I could save time for running my lines! I coarsely chopped up my fresh cabbage and then layered all of the ingredients with the turkey on top and then I turned it on low and walked away. What I came back to was a delicious, low-fat cabbage soup that lasted me for days and help me slim down a bit. My Turkey and Cabbage "slim-down" Soup has no added oil and the turkey meat I used is extra lean so you still get some nice protein but you don't have to feel guilty about eating it. Look, sometimes "happy accidents" can be a good thing - I put my cabbage to good use and I'm feeling HAPPY!
Set your crock pot to the low setting. When chopping the cabbage, I removed the excess leaves and used only the "head part." You could blanch the outer leaves if desired and use for presentation under your soup bowl if serving it to guests. Layer all ingredients in your slow cooker or crock pot starting with the cabbage and ending with the ground turkey meat on top. Let the soup cook for 5 to 6 hours on the low setting. At four hours into the slow cooking process, use tongs to mix the soup ingredients. If additional flavor is needed, add 1 chicken bouillon cube to the soup and continue cooking. Serve when cabbage is thouroughly cooked and garnish with an optional fresh sage leaf and/or rosemary sprig. Enjoy and happy eating!
