Yesterday I mentioned that my ‘happy accident’ came about since I really wanted the taste of minestrone but needed something more stick-to-your-ribs.  This recipe came about in an attempt to make something light but super filling too.  You see, my work peeps and I have decided to lighten our lunches for the next little bit.  Which is awesome.  A new cooking challenge and new things to try but it is REALLY cold right now and every cell in my being is saying ‘bulk-up girl!  your might freeze’.
However, in a few months I’ll be pulling my summer clothes out and don’t want to freak out by my impression of a beached whale.
So…noodle bowls it is.  This recipe fed: two adults for dinner and a hungry toddler and five adults for lunch the next day.  That’s a lot of bang for a little effort.
I’m presently in love with these fabulous herb cubes that you get at the grocery store.  The flavour is almost as good as fresh and it means I’ve got them on hand all the time.  I’ll soon get my winter herb garden on the sill but that is a job for next week.
In my bowl I’ve got the equivalent of 2 T. fresh chopped both cilantro and  ginger and 1 T. pureed lemon grass.  You can usually find tubes of this already to go in the produce section.  I happened to grow it last summer and pureed it at the end of the season. I also added 1 clove of chopped garlic.
I added 1 lb. of ground turkey and mixed.
Formed into meatballs and browned them.  At this point, I really thought I had a winner since the husband and small one were wanting to be taste testers.
In a nice big pot I got 8 cups of chicken broth boiling (make your own for pennies) and added; 1 tsp. crushed chilli flakes, 1 1/2 T. soy sauce, 2 tsp. sesame oil, 1 T. chicken stock concentrate, 2 stalks celery (cut on the bias) and 1 large carrot (cut the same for even cooking).
I added udon noodles (a cup for each cup of stock).
my meatballs and simmered for 5 minutes.
Finally, I added 1 1/2 cups of brocolli and cooked until still crisp (2-3 minutes).
Then I decided to pretend I was a food stylist.  Note: I said pretend.

Happy eating 🙂
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