Katie
One of the best things about hosting Thanksgiving is all of the leftovers! You can literally eat for days! Still, there is only so much white meat and there are only so many “Leftover Sandwiches” that a person can eat. What normally happens in my house is all of the breast meat gets used up in a couple of days, leaving only the wings and drumsticks. I’m not really one to chow down on a drumstick, so I need other options. In the past, I’ve made a yummy Turkey Bolognese and a Slow Cooker Leftover Turkey Chili, but this year I was looking for something new.
So, after a couple of days, I decided to make a turkey soup. I used this recipe as my reference. I really tried to use a lot of my leftovers (besides the turkey) . I managed to use the leftover red and green peppers from the crudités platter, as well as the leftover can of corn that I never even opened on Thanksgiving. I even managed to use some leftover white wine!
In my version, I used a combination of turkey and chicken stock, and added carrots as well. The soup had really great flavor and was loaded with yummy vegetables. I didn’t mind eating turkey for several more nights thanks to this soup! (Note: make sure you use instant brown rice. If you don’t, you will need a lot more time to cook the rice in the soup!)
Start with all of the veggies…
- Chop up 2 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, and several cloves of garlic.
- Heat some EVOO in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of butter.
- Let the butter melt and begin to brown slightly.
- Add all of the chopped vegetables.
- Stir to combine and cook until tender.
- Once tender, pour in 4 cups of turkey broth.
- Add an additional 1½ cups of chicken stock.
- Pour in ¾ cup pinot grigio (or other dry white wine).
- Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.
- Season with ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Add a can of corn.
- Stir to combine everything.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, shred up the remaining turkey meat. (I used all dark meat from the wings and the many drumsticks I had thanks to my Make Ahead Turkey Gravy recipe. Use dark, white, or a combination though! Just make sure you remove all skin and bones!)
Look at all that turkey!
- Remove the lid from the dutch oven and add the turkey.
- Measure out a cup of instant brown rice. (Make sure it’s instant! Otherwise it till take forever to cook!)
- Pour the rice into the soup.
- Stir the rice into the soup.
- Let simmer for about 8 more minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
- While the rice cooks, thinly slice some scallions for garnish. (They really are more than just a garnish though. They added freshness and a nice burst of onion flavor.)
Sprinkle some scallions into each bowl and serve while it’s hot and comforting! If you are reheating this for leftovers the next day, you may need to add a little more turkey or chicken stock as the rice will absorb some of it. And, don’t worry, it’s still yummy the day after! Enjoy!
One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
Leftover Turkey Soup with Brown Rice (serves 8)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 4 cups turkey broth
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup pinot grigio
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked turkey, shredded
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the olive oil and butter.
- Let the butter melt and brown slightly.
- Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, green pepper, and red pepper to the pot.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
- Pour in the turkey broth, chicken broth, and wine.
- Season with the thyme and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and add the turkey and rice.
- Stir to combine and let simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the rice is soft.
- Garnish each bowl of soup with some scallions.
