Turkey Soup

So, I was faced with a dilemma this week. I had to find something that I could bring for supper for some friends. They live about 45 minutes away and have two small children, one of whom just had heart surgery (at 2!). Anyway, I needed something that would be quick, easy and kids would eat. Of course I called my MIL (mother in law). She is an awesome cook and always has great ideas. She suggested using up the last of our Christmas turkey for soup. Fantastic! I adapted a recipe of hers to the situation and made it the day before - fed 4 adults and two kids and then brought the remainder, fed 4 adults, two kids and still had a lot of leftovers. I forgot to take a picture until after we all ate, but you can still get the idea. (By the way - it was a hit!)



Turkey Soup

1 Turkey carcass (I always pick off pretty much all the meat that I see to use for other things, and still usually have plenty of meat in my soup - this time I added some extra meat because I wanted it plenty meaty)

Place in a stockpot and just cover with water. Add some vegetables - a carrot, a celery stick, an onion. Or, you can save vegetable peelings and use those to flavor your stock. That is what I do. When you peel vegetables for other things, stick them in a bag in the freezer for future use.  I have one bag for onions, one for carrots and one for celery.  Then, whenever I make a stock I just bring out the bags and dump them in. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. I usually cook at a simmer for about 4 hours or so. Then strain out the stock, let the carcass cool for a little while then pick the meat off. You may be surprised how much you get off! I always am.

Add the meat back to the stock. Add peeled carrots cut into about 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Add sliced onions. I usually cut my onions into quarters and then slice them. Add cut up celery, cover and cook at a simmer for about an hour. Then add amish type noodles (you can buy these in the noodle section of your grocery store) or make homemade - recipe following. After noodles are cooked add dumplings.


Dumplings

1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
flour

Mix beaten egg and milk together. Gradually add flour until the consistency of pancake batter, about 1 1/2 cups. Dip the spoon into the liquid before dropping dumplings to prevent dough from sticking Drop teaspoon into boiling broth to form small dumplings. Cook for about 5 minutes.


German Egg Noodles

1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL milk
1 cup flour (approx)

Combine egg, salt, and milk. Add enough flour to make stiff dough. Roll very thin on floured surface. Let stand 20 minutes. Roll up the dough and cut into 1/8 inch thick strips. Spread on paper to dry. Drop into boiling soup and cook 10 minutes.

This soup was really good. You can add some seasoning if you want. My MIL uses "Orrington farms chicken flavored ( as directed with water)". I am not really a bullion person, but hers is fantastic too. Sometimes, I taste the soup and then smell some of my spices. If they smell good, I might add some. Trust your senses. You can always take a cup of soup and just flavor that to try it out if you don't want to risk your whole pot of soup. Have fun!

PS - I often freeze my leftover soups and then pull them out for a quick meal when I am super busy.