Oh How I Love Thee, Turkey Soup…

Happy Belated Turkey Day!  We spent a glorious weekend at the beach (???!!!) with family and friends–it doesn’t get much better than that-especially in Ontario!  So thankful for such beautiful weather, so thankful for the love of family, so thankful for all the laughs, the food and of course the turkey!

~Sunday morning, in my eternal state of gratitude, I loudly proclaimed ” I love cooking the turkey!  I love smelling the turkey cook!  I love eating the turkey!  AND I love arguing about the turkey!”  as is the tradition in our family to argue about when the turkey should go into the oven, and how long should it cook for.  Some things are so predictable 🙂

~Madeleine proclaimed she was thankful for turkey (because it makes turkey soup of course…) and Aunt Kathy…you just never know what that kid is going to say!
In any case, here is the turkey soup recipe–one of our favourites for sure, and such a great way to stretch your grocery dollar!

Turkey Stock/Soup

to a large stockpot add:
all turkey bones and skin
any leftover gravy, stuffing potatoes, turnip or other veg that isn’t enough for keeping…
leftover cranberries
1 onion cut in half
1 carrot cut into chunks
a couple ribs of celery (or the leafy parts you don’t want to eat)
cracked pepper
1 dried chili if you like heat, leave it out if you don’t
bay leaf
1-2 tsp dried herbs of your choice, or a bunch of fresh

Fill pot with water and bring to a boil.  Simmer together for 3-4 hours.  Cool.  Strain all bones/veg etc.   If you just want stock, there it is. Done. 

If you want some soup, here is what you need to do:

Pick turkey meat off bones, cut up if necessary and add back into the stock.  (add more from the leftover turkey if  you need to)
Cut up 3-4 carrots, a bunch (4-5) of green onions, 4 celery ribs and add them to the stock.  Throw in a couple of handfuls of dried red lentils.  Season with S&P and add more herbs to taste.  Simmer for an hour or so, add a couple of handfuls of “fine” egg noodles and simmer until they are done.  Serve!

TIP:  if you are extra thrifty like me, you will add some more water to all the bones/veg etc and simmer it again for 2-3 hours–you will get an extra pot of stock (although not quite as flavourful as the first)–this is great to freeze in small containers,1-2 cups in size, to use in other recipes or as a soup base.