Turkey or Chicken Soup

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• Sumo

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Last (Canadian) Thanksgiving, my husband had some turkey stock started before we sat down to eat dinner!  He had carved the turkey just before we ate, and put all the ‘unnecessary’ bones, skin, and extra bits of meat into our stock pot with water and oregano.  Our guests did wonder what was bubbling on the stove during the meal!  After a day and a half of simmering, the stock was rich and thick, and we froze enough for 5 complete soup meals for our hungry family of seven.

This Sunday we had a roast chicken for supper.  I had cooked it until it was so tender that the meat fell off the bones.  Aha!  A perfect opportunity to make some stock!  I deboned the chicken before serving it, put all the bones in the slow cooker with lots of water, and let it simmer until Monday afternoon.

Then I made soup, the same soup I usually make with turkey stock:

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 bulb garlic*, minced
• 1 cup leeks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 cups salsa juice**
• 1 cup red peppers, chopped
• 1 cup frozen soup herbs***
• 1/3 c fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 t salt
• ½ t pepper
• 2 t oregano
• All of the chicken stock, with bones removed and meat chopped and added back in****
• Extra water to taste
• 1/6 pound rice vermicelli

I mixed these all together and cooked them for about half an hour.  It made a delicious and nourishing meal, just what we needed after feeling foggy and tired all day.

Of course, you can use different vegetables and spices.  Ginger and greens make a wonderful addition, for example.

• * I used a whole bulb of garlic this time because there seems to be a virus attacking our family; when we are feeling healthy we use less garlic.
• ** When we make salsa, we skim some of the extra liquid off before canning it; we call this salsa juice.  Adding a half cup of salsa should give the same delicious flavor.
• *** We use lovage, thyme, savory, chives, parsley, celery, and basil, but any combination of your favorite soup herbs will work.
• **** If there is very little meat in the stock, I’ll often add meatballs.

For more tips and recipes, please see Homemaker Mondays, Tuesday Twister,  Tuesday’s Tip Jar, Frugal Friday, and Farm Girl Friday.