Who gets the task of picking clean the turkey bones left over from a Thanksgiving or holiday dinner? My dad is usually the chosen one in our house. He thoroughly enjoys the chore of taking all the meat off the bones and feels super important at performing this task so that I can make a delicious soup or broth at no extra charge! As my Uncle Bob would say, “Waste not, want not!”
So, what do I do with my Thanksgiving leftovers? Tons! If you’d like to borrow some of my easy ideas, just ask! One of my many favorite things I like to do is make soup! Here's how it's done:
Place all of the following ingredients in a large pot:
- Bones of turkey
- 2 quarts cold water (or enough to cover)
- 1 sliced carrot (maybe you have leftover glazed carrots? Just throw them in!)
- 1 chopped celery stalk (any leftover from that amazing stuffing you prepared? Throw them in!)
- 1 teaspoon chopped onion (any creamed onions left over? That’s right! Throw em’ in!)
- 1 sprig of parsley, thyme, rosemary and marjoram (I use all the fresh herbs I marinated the turkey with)
- 3 peppercorns or ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Bring all the ingredients to a boil and simmer covered for two hours. Strain into a colander and remember to put another pot under the colander. This is where my dad’s responsibility comes in…now, it's time to pick over the bones in the colander and put the turkey meat, carrots, celery, onion and herbs back in the soup. Make sure (dad!) to not put any bones back in as some of the neck bones are very small and could be a choking hazard.
As my own personal cooking touch, I also add in wild rice at the last 20 minutes of cooking and I drop in little round balls of leftover stuffing to add some texture.
This makes a lot of soup depending on how big the bird was. I usually bake a 20lb turkey, so this soup makes enough for me to creatively wrap containers for my family, friends and neighbors. And you can even freeze some for that family member that couldn’t make dinner or the friend of yours that’s about to have a baby. They’ll love the kind gesture and it’s healthy, too!
I feel very blessed for those who are in my life and I hope you had a restful and hearty Thanksgiving Day!
