Second Chance Gobble

You ought to know by now that we’re big fans of using what we’ve got. After our Holiday Party this year, we had a carcass left over from a 16-lb. turkey, just begging to be used. Enter: turkey and wild rice with mushroom soup… mmm.

A special thanks to Melissa for gifting us with a pair of soup bowls this holiday season. As you can see, we’re putting them to great use.

The recipe closely mirrors that of our garden chicken stock (subbing chicken for turkey and adding sage and a whole clove), then adds ingredients you probably have lying around your house this time of year:

• leftover turkey meat
• onions, carrots and celery
• mushrooms
• box of wild rice and/or long grain rice

Perfect for a cold winter afternoon. Even better when you’re sick, like I’ve been the past couple of days. [K]

Click here to view a printable version of this recipe.

Turkey and Wild Rice with Mushroom Soup

~ Serves ~

8

~ Ingredients for Stock ~

• 6 quarts water
• 1 turkey carcass
• 2 medium yellow / brown onions
• 3 carrots (6 oz.)
• 3 stalks celery
• Handful thyme (2 branches)
• Handful sage leaves (10 leaves’ worth)
• Handful dill (10 springs’ worth)
• 1 small head garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole clove
• 1 ½ tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. whole peppercorns or ½ tsp. ground pepper

~ Ingredients for Soup ~

• 1 cup shredded leftover turkey meat
• ½ medium yellow / brown onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 tbsp. butter and/or olive oil
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp. butter
• ½ cup wild and/or long grain rice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional: chicken stock / broth
• Garnish: minced parsley leaves

** For every additional cup of available shredded leftover turkey meat, add another set of “ingredients for soup” with 2-3 cups of chicken stock / broth. Each additional set will add another 4 servings of soup.

~ Preparation ~

Preparation Time: 4 hours

1. In an 8-qt stock pot, add water and turkey carcass. Turn the heat up to high. While that’s heating:
2. Quarter onions and throw them into the pot. Slice carrots in half (or thirds) and throw them into the pot. Do the same with the celery. Add sage leaves, along with the thyme and dill.
3. Slice the head of garlic in half. Then slice it again a couple of times on the side through the bigger cloves. Throw the whole thing into the pot. If some of the cloves break apart, smash them with the side of a knife and throw them in. Add the bay leaves, salt and pepper, and let simmer / low boil for 3 hours.
4. After the stock has cooked for 3 hours, dice remaining onion, carrots and celery. Slice mushrooms. Sauté onions, carrots and celery in butter and/or olive oil for about 15 minutes. Simultaneously, sauté mushrooms in pan with butter for 10 minutes. Cook rice.
5. Strain stock, discard solids and return liquid to stovetop. Add into liquid the sautéed onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Also add rice. Return to simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken stock / broth if soup is a little thick. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with minced parsley leaves and serve immediately.

Nutrition content per serving: 185 calories, 13g carbs, 16g protein, 7.5g fat, 1g fiber

Cost per serving: $ 0.64

Source: Rustic Garden Bistro

What do you do with your turkey leftovers?

Tagged as: Carrot, Celery, Garden herbs, Garlic, Mushroom, Onion, Rice