It’s been snowing here in Western Pennsylvania for days now. I was totally unprepared for this snow so early in December. Usually we don’t have snow sticking on the ground til January. I guess I have to look at the positive, it’s making me more mentally prepared for x-mas.
After Thanksgiving dinner, I saved the turkey carcass to make soup with it another day. Well, it ended up staying in my freezer longer than anticipated. Unexpectedly, I wound up under the weather last week…with bronchitis! I’ve never had bronchitis before but man does it make your lungs sore. It feels like someone is squeezing your lungs with every breath.
After two days of antibiotics I felt more like myself again and thought soup would be the perfect remedy. You could use canned turkey or chicken stock instead but I think it’s well worth the extra time to make your own stock.
Ingredients:
- Turkey carcass
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, peeled and halved
- 2 celery stalks, halved
- 1 bay leaf
- homemade turkey stock (follow step 1 and 2), or 5 cups canned turkey or chicken broth
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
- 1 package store bought gnocchi
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Place turkey carcass in large stock pot or dutch oven. Add enough water to completely cover the carcass. Toss in 1 onion quartered, 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then lower heat. Simmer for 2 – 3 hours.
- Strain the stock and return the broth to the dutch oven. Remove any leftover meat from the bones and set aside to add to the soup later.
- Add the chopped carrots, celery and gnocchi to the fresh turkey stock. Bring to a boil again then lower to a simmer. Cook until carrots are tender.
- Add the peas and the turkey meat. Simmer for 3 – 4 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
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