Recipes

Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Turkey?

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Tony Maples Photography

 

By DiAne Gates

Photos by DiAne Gates

The refrigerator, regardless how large, needs a reforming and restoring after Christmas. And that turkey carcass must go! So pull the leftover goodness off the bones, and divvy the meat into freezer bags for all those family left-over dishes, but, save enough to transform our chicken noodle soup to turkey noodle yummy.

Creamy Turkey Noodle Soup

Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Turkey?

Our temperatures are plummeting before the New Year arrives. So what better time to make a big pot of luscious comfort food…my favorite…Chicken/Turkey Noodle Soup…the creamy way.

Ingredients:

2 32 ounce boxes of Chicken stock

1 large can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 large can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 to 3 cups of chopped turkey meat

1 large onion, chopped

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium red pepper chopped

1 lemon – juice and zest

5 or 6 carrots, peeled and sliced

8 to 10 mushrooms cleaned and sliced (optional)

1 package of noodles of your choice (I like the large egg noodles)

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ teaspoon Nutmeg (I prefer fresh. About ¼ of a whole nut)

1 teaspoon thyme

Dash of Cinnamon

And, of course, four or five shakes of red pepper flakes!

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Salt onions to soften and begin building a flavor profile. Add chopped red pepper, carrots and mushrooms and a little more salt.

Combine chicken stock and cream soups in pot and stir until blended and smooth. Bring to a simmer, adding zest and juice of one lemon together with spices and red pepper flakes. Reduce to a slight simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for an hour. I often do these steps in the morning, then a couple of hours before serving, I add the noodles and meat…be it chicken or turkey.

If you choose to use chicken, I grill or broil my seasoned chicken, then slice it up for soup. The richness of grilled or broiled chicken adds far more flavor than plain old boiled chicken.

This soup will bless your soul, warm your bones, and nourish your body! Every good Jewish grandmother knows the value of a good chicken/turkey noodle soup. There’s nothing in this recipe the kiddos won’t like, and you can freeze the leftovers for a quick soup and salad dinner during the short days of January. Happy New Year!