Paleo in PDX

The night I made this soup, I asked Jesse what he wanted for dinner. He suggested spaghetti squash with meat sauce, but I told him I didn’t feel like spaghetti. We’d been having it for dinner quite a bit and I felt like I needed a break. What’s funny, is that the recipe I whipped up is basically a thinner and soupier spaghetti sauce with squash noodles mixed in. Hence the name, spaghetti soup. So, I ended up eating a variation of spaghetti anyway. I guess I must have wanted it unconsciously.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 Tbsp grass-fed ghee or butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1.5 cups frozen kale
• 2 cups no-sugar added marinara sauce (I used this brand)
• 1 26.4 oz box Pomi chopped tomatoes (or a 28 oz can)
• 2-3 cups bone broth (or decent store bought broth/stock)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• Red pepper flakes to taste, optional
• 1/2 large cooked spaghetti squash, scraped into strands with fork
• Italian herb-infused olive oil for drizzling, optional, but highly recommended

Directions:

1. Melt the ghee in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and ground chicken. Saute a few minutes, breaking up the ground chicken with a spatula. Then, add the celery and mushrooms and continue to cook, until the meat is fully browned.
2. Add the marinara sauce, tomatoes, frozen kale, grated carrots, broth and seasonings, and mix well. Bring soup to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and let cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the cooked spaghetti squash strands and adjust seasonings if need be. Serve with Italian herb-infused olive oil drizzled on top, if desired.

Yields: 5-6 servings