Thanksgiving Traditions Part 2

Do you often clean up after Thanksgiving dinner and wonder what on earth you are going to do with all of the leftovers? This new tradition has quickly become a favorite in our house. Almost enjoyed more than the thanksgiving dinner....

The place to start is with the carcass of the turkey. Don't throw it away! Toss the carcass and the leg/thigh bones in a freezer bag and put in the freezer. When a couple of days have passed and you are tired of leftover turkey sandwiches but still have a mound of turkey left, pull out those bones and make Turkey Noodle Soup.

Rather than using store bought chicken or turkey broth, use the turkey bones to make your own super rich and flavorful stock. Believe me, it is worth the effort!

P.S. If you smoke your turkey like we do, making this soup is a must. We often buy a bigger bird so we have enough left overs for everyone and still make this soup.

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Turkey Noodle Soup

Servings: 12-14

Turkey Stock

1 turkey carcass and bones

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 onion

1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley, black peppercorn)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut up the carcass to pieces that will fit into your stock pot. Place bones on a roasting sheet with a little olive oil and roast for about 15 minutes. Just enough time to brown the bones. Remove from the oven.

Place the bones in your stock pot and cover with water. Add carrot, celery, onion and bouquet garni to the pot. Bring to a boil and then lower to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 3 hours skimming the fat from the top often.

When the stock is ready, remove the bones from the pot and strain the stock through a fine sieve. Let cool and freeze or use immediately in the noodle soup below.

Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

TT sea salt and pepper

1 tbsp parsley chopped

leftover turkey (white and dark meat), diced

1 package egg noodles

turkey stock (see above)

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook until softened. Add the carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables have softened.

Add the turkey stock to the pot along with the the left over turkey. Heat through at a low simmer for about 10 minutes. Bring the soup to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until noodles are softened about 7-9 minutes.

Add the parsley and taste if additional salt pepper is needed.