Turkey Noodle Soup

Well, I hope you all had a terrific thanksgiving, and you've probably had your fill of turkey sandwiches, maybe you have a little turkey left, maybe you have the turkey drumstick and wings that are now a little dried out? So, what to do with the turkey bones? I have a terrific recipe to make stock out of the bones and also a soup recipe that uses the stock you have made.

Turkey Bone Stock

1 leftover Turkey carcass, drumsticks, wings, neck, skin removed
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
2 stalks celery, washed and cut into 3-4 inch lengths
2 carrots, washed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/4 bunch parsley stalks, (reserve parsley leaves/tops for soup)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
2 medium bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon sage leaves, dried or
5 fresh sage leaves, left whole
2 allspice berries
Water to cover

Place all ingredients in large 10-12 cup stock pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, skim off any foam, boil for 3-4 minutes, then turn heat to medium low, cover half ways and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, add water if the water level drops too low, taste for seasoning, add more salt if desired, simmer on low for another 1 hour. Remove the carcass and other bones to a plate. strip bones of any useable meat, reserve for turkey noodle soup. Strain stock into a large bowl, or another stock pot if you are making soup. Otherwise, cover the stock, let cool in fridge, next day, skim and hard fat off the stock and divide into 1 liter sized freezer containers, or zip locks, freeze then use in your favourite soup or stew recipe.

Turkey/Chicken Soup

8 cups Turkey stock
3 stalks of celery, washed chopped into bite size pieces
2 large or 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into half coins
2 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped medium dice
Any leftover veggies from thanksgiving dinner(if they are not more than a day or two old)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch of hot pepper flakes
1-1/2 cups Left over turkey meat, cut into bite size pieces
Parsley tops reserved from the stock making, chopped
1 cup rotini, or curly (no-yolk) egg noodle
A few dashes of hot sauce if desired

In a large stock pot, place all ingredients except the Leftover turkey, parsley and noodles. This is one soup that is nearly fat free, so I usually don't sauté the veggies before adding the stock, because we could all take a break from rich and heavy food after the big meals thanksgiving weekend. Bring to a boil, stir well, taste for salt, if you add some and it's still not salty enough, add a vegetable boullion cube. Simmer until the veggies are almost tender, then add the parsley, left over turkey meat, and noodles, cook and stir until the noodles are tender, adjust seasoning, add hot sauce, let stand for 5 minutes, then stir and serve. Any leftover soup can be frozen.