One of my favorite post-Thanksgiving dinner activities is making turkey noodle soup. I make a huge pot of turkey noodle soup and freeze much of it to carry me through the winter "comfort food" season. While I don't follow any particular recipe, I use whatever I have available (I even threw in some leftover bok choy which I chopped up to add greens). The more veggies, the better! The secret to a good turkey soup is the stock. I combine homemade stock with my favorite ingredient- Better than Bouillon paste- chicken flavor. Here is how I made today's soup- adapt to fit your ingredients!
Turkey Noodle Soup
Start with the veggies:
1 bunch of celery with leaves- chopped
3 large onions, chopped
8 large carrots, chopped (these were from my garden from which I am still pulling carrots!)
1/2 bunch of parsley- chopped
1 small box of frozen lima beans
2 cans stewed tomatoes, drained with tomatoes chopped in small pieces
2 cans of corn
4 bunches of chopped bok choy (I only added this because it was left over from a few nights ago)
1 bunch of chopped broccoli
1/2 lb of fresh, chopped green beans
1 small pkg of frozen peas
3 bay leaves (I have my own laurel plant that grows in my sun room that I harvest fresh bay leaves from!. If you ever see one for sale- buy it- fresh bay leaves are so much better!)
3 fresh sage leaves, chopped
3 sprigs of marjoram, chopped (note: the sage and marjoram are from my window herb garden- use 1 tsp of poultry seasoning instead if you don't have fresh herbs)
1 T of pepper
Place all the above in a large soup pot and cover with water. Count the number of cups of water added until the water completely covers the veggies. Add 1 tsp of Better than Bouillon per cup of water to the pot.
Turkey Stock
Place the carcass of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey in a pot (skin, bones, meat and all) and cover 3/4 of the way with water. Simmer for 2 hours. Drain liquid through a fine colander or sieve and separate strained broth from the carcass. Let strained broth set in a cold place for about an hour, then skim the solidified fat of the top and discard. Pour the strained broth (I think I had about 2 quarts) into the soup pot with the veggies.
Add the Turkey
Pick through the carcass for remaining bits of turkey meat to add to the soup pot. Add more turkey from your leftovers, as desired.
Simmer the Soup and Add the Noodles
Simmer the soup for about an hour. Taste test it and if the broth needs a bit more flavor, add more Better than Bouillon paste to taste (by the time I was finished, I used almost the entire jar). Cook half a package of medium size egg noodles according to package directions. Strain and add to simmering soup. (Don't add uncooked egg noodles to the soup because they will absorb all the liquid while they cook). Simmer for 10 more minutes.
The soup is now ready to serve! Remember, it will taste even better the second day as it sets and the flavors fully develop! Note: This s a HUGE recipe- it fills a large stock pot (the kind big enough to boil half a dozen lobsters in!).
Comments
Post a Comment