Turkey Soup..the day after!

Turkey Soup is a holiday must for me! So this is a posted request from Nines who wanted to know more about how I do it :c)

It's not that big of a deal! I'm a throw in some of this, some of that cook and this is what I did!

Take turkey leftovers...and pull all the meat from the bones. Save what you want for sandwhiches , etc..this soup just uses the little bits that no one will snack on! Crack the remaining carcass in half and put it in the crock pot with water to cover. I also remove any turkey skin, this just adds fat to the broth. You can add any leftover meat that you want, there will be alot more that will continue to cook off the carcass....I don't add anything else to it at this point, just making the soup stock. I let it simmer until the meat falls off the bones. At this point I unplug the crock pot, pour the contents through a collander so the broth goes into a pot, and the meat/bones stays in the collander.

I put the broth in the fridge to cool so the fat raises to the top and I can remove it. After the meat/bones have cooled enough for handling, I pick through it putting the meat bits back into the crock pot, and tossing the bones, cartilage, yucky stuff....

When the broth has cooled and the fat has been skimmed off, back into the crock pot it goes, this time with the meat, and the other things I want in it...a chopped onion, chopped celery, slices of carrot, sometimes diced raw potatoes, along with some poultry seasoning, a couple bay leaves, some minced garlic, pepper, and if it needs more flavor, I add some chicken soup base. The soup base usually has enough salt, so test if it needs more. Season it to your taste.

I let the veggies cook until they are done. Along the way you might want to add rice, or stir in noodles a bit before serving, just long enough to get them done and not mushy. Be aware that rice and pasta are going to soak up ALOT of juice, so you can even cook those on the stove top and add them cooked to the soup just before serving.

I've also added any leftover gravy that I have to the broth depending if I am going to use it with the leftovers or not...it adds good flavor to the broth.

Serve with corn bread, rolls or crusty french bread and any left over salad you have from the day before. And of course, finish it off with any leftover pie, cake, brownies, whatever that you SURELY have at your house Nines, with all that food you baked up, it can't all be gone yet!

Bonnie