Thanksgiving Soup

Thanksgiving is past and everyone is ready to move on from turkey leftovers. But the weather outside is frightful, today’s the official “putting up the Christmas tree day” at our house, and the convenience of throwing everything into a pot and calling it soup is too good to pass up. Honestly, I don’t often brag on anything I’ve cooked. In fact, in our household there’s a running joke about how, when anyone says how “delicious,” “wonderful,” or even “NOM-a-licious” something is, I always ask, “Is it good?” (in a voice that really wonders if it is any good). But this soup is REALLY good. Really. And while I was throwing stuff into the pot as I thought of it (or found it in the fridge), I did actually stop and do a search for “pumpkin in turkey soup.” That seemed a little OUT THERE but, as usual, Solomon was right; absolutely nothing new under the sun. Wondering about pumpkin in turkey soup? Read on! Just keep in mind that I was using what I had on hand, so feel free to get creative. (You can substitute with dry spices, sea salt, black pepper, etc)

Thanksgiving Soup
serves 8-10

3 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 medium purple onion, diced
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, diced and smashed
2 Tbs turkey fat
3 cups turkey stock
3 cups filtered water
3 small sprigs of thyme, chopped
1 small sprig of rosemary, chopped
1 bay leaf
pinch of pink Himalayan salt
pinch of Chinese 5 Spice
1/4 cup sourdough noodles, broken up (homemade)
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
3 cups turkey, largely diced
1 cup turkey in gravy (from leftover hot turkey sandwiches)

Melt turkey fat (or butter, ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil) in a stock pot.

(I saved this from the rotisserie dripping pan, which separated from the drippings when I refrigerated it)

Add carrot, celery, and onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add garlic, rosemary, and thyme and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently.

Add stock, water, bay leaf, 5 spice seasoning, and pink salt, if using. (I’m using it because I have it and don’t know what to use it for 😀 ).

Add sourdough noodles (I had these in the freezer), or rice or whatever you like.

Bring almost to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

Add mashed sweet potato and pumpkin puree and mix well.

Add diced turkey and turkey/gravy mix and cook till heated through.

Remove bay leaf and serve to your family. They will love you for it!

Freeze leftovers for a day when you need a meal in a hurry. By then, they will have forgotten they were tired of turkey.
🙂

This post is part of Fresh Bites Friday blog carnival hosted by Real Food Whole Health as well as The 21st Century Housewife’s “Gallery of Favorites” weekend blog hop. Be sure to go visit them for more great posts!

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