Lazy Day Turkey Soup

What a crazy weekend! By the time I got around to thinking about dinner (and blogging tonight) it was almost 2PM. Typically I think of something I haven't posted yet and voila! That's what we end up having for supper. See the problem today was that I was still in PJs at 2 and had no intention of going to the grocery store - truly a lazy lazy day. I ransacked my freezer and fridge and found a bag of turkey parts and plenty of meat, so I decided on turkey soup.

Ingredients:

1 turkey carcass (bones, scrap meat)

4 cups of cooked turkey meat

2 large onions (1 quartered, 1 diced)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp rosemary

3 cloves of garlic

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 1/2 cups of green beans 

1 1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

5 quarts water

1 1/2 cups, medium grain white rice

The key to a great soup is the broth or stock you make it with. I typically use store bought stocks to cook with just because it's quicker, but for a good hearty soup you should really make your own. Start by putting your turkey carcass, bones and all, into a large stock pot with your quartered onion, bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper,  garlic cloves and water. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for 2 hours, making sure to get all of the flavor out of the miscellaneous turkey parts in there.

Once your stock has cooked down, strain all of the parts out of it and dispose of them. Return the stock to the pot and add in the turkey meat, celery, carrots, diced onion, green beans, and rice. Bring to a boil and then once again return to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes.

The best accompaniments for this soup are flaky biscuits or a wedge of my "Full Belly Boule". And, as with any homemade soup, it just gets better after it sits in the fridge. You can freeze your leftovers too, so you can enjoy your lazy day turkey soup whenever your lazy day may be!

-J

I almost forgot! I want to give kudos to Pauly T. for some amazing homemade Philly cheesesteak last night - "It's all about the Whiz" :)