1. Prep the leeks, carrots, and mushrooms as instructed.
2. Preheat a pot to medium-high heat with avocado oil. Add the diced leeks and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant. 
3. Incorporate the minced garlic and sauté another minute.
4. Add the diced carrots, ground bison, Italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt, and some cracked black pepper. Cook until the bison is no longer pink.
5. Add the broth, another 1/2 tsp of salt, turn the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a light boil. While waiting for it to boil, go ahead and prep the kale and add to the soup (even if it’s not boiling yet).
6. Once boiling, incorporate the orzo and cook about 5 minutes until the orzo is al-dente. Remove from heat; the orzo will continue cooking. Taste test and adjust salt as needed.
7. Just FYI: The orzo continues absorbing broth overnight (if you have leftovers), so if it ends up not having as much broth as you want by the next day, then feel free to add more! I found 12 cups to be the sweet spot for me, but I know some love a lot more broth in their soup.

Modifications and variations:

• Sub a medium onion in place of the leek if desired.
• Make it gluten-free: Substitute rice 1:1 in place of the orzo. I recommend a white rice for quick cooking, and it’ll be ready after about 10 minutes of adding the rice (instead of 5 like orzo). If using brown rice, then it’ll take closer to 40 minutes for the rice to finish cooking.
• Choose another meat: You can substitute any other ground meat in place of the bison, such as beef, venison, chicken, or turkey. Or you can also substitute diced chicken!
• Add extra veggies: Add any other veggies that you want, such as celery, peas, etc.