Ok, so Mark's work gave him a free turkey but I knew we were going to his aunt and uncle's house so we didn't need the turkey for Thanksgiving. I broke down the raw turkey and froze all its yummy parts for later use and boiled the remaining carcass to make homemade turkey stock. It was a lot more stock than I needed for this soup but I froze the rest in some ice cube trays for later use.
**update: This post was written last week and since then I've had to make a second batch of this because Mark liked it so much. :P
Homemade Turkey Stock
**You don't have to use a carcass but if you use breast, wing, thigh, etc meat use the bone-in because it will taste better.
Turkey/chicken carcass (hahaha it seems so barbaric) or bones or actua
1 large onion, rough chop (large pieces)
3 celery stalks, rough chop
2 large carrots, rough chop
1 Tbsp of italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1. Place your protein carcass/bones in a large stock pot. Fill with water until carcass is covered. Throw in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1-2 hours. Skim off any foam or extra oil that comes to the top. Once it has cooled, skim off any fat and remove carcass to salvage any meat that is available. Save meat in a separate container. Strain the stock and toss the bones and veggies.
Creamy Turkey Soup with Egg Noodles
**Obviously you don't need to make your own stock for this. Store bought chicken stock will do just fine.
1/2 cup of butter
1 large onion, large dice
1/4 cup flour
6 cups of turkey or chicken stock (more or less depending on how thick and creamy you want it)
2 cups cream and/or milk
3 stalks of celery, large dice
2 large carrots, large dice
1 peeled potato, large dice
5 stalks of green onion or 1 leek, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
cooked turkey meat
egg noodles
1. In a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven saute onions with butter. Before the onions get soft, mix in flour. Cook for about 2 min. Scrape the bottom of the pot while adding cream and 2 cups of stock. Stir until it thickens a bit. Add remaining veggies, garlic, and stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 min or until the veggies aren't raw anymore. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. (If you're not going to eat all of the soup in one sitting then I'd recommend cooking the noodles separately.) Add noodles and cook until al dente. Place cooked turkey meat in bowl and ladle over the meat with the soup. Garnish with sliced green onions.
