Homemade Turkey Soup

Okay, so this is my Tried It Tuesday post. "Tried It" can really be applied to anything new I have tried (or something tried and true that I would like to share with you). This can be a product, a service, a recipe, a new tip, etc. For the most part, they have been product and service discussions, but let's be honest...there are a lot of new products out there, but I don't really try something new every week. So this week, I wanted to share my experience with making Turkey Soup. My mom has told me at every event that I have hosted and roasted a turkey about how my aunt would always take home the carcass and turkey soup. Last weekend, when I picked up a turkey breast on a great deal, I decided I would see how many meals I could get out of it. So, on Sunday, I roasted the turkey - stuffed only with a few herbs. I made a side of Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans. Not a full out feast, it wasn't Thanksgiving after all, it was just the four of us sharing dinner. After carving the turkey, I decided that I would try to make soup. I also had a plan for the leftover turkey, putting Leftover Turkey Pot Pie on the menu for Tuesday. The nearly 6# turkey breast was able to feed us for Sunday's lunch, plus 3 dinners. In addition, there were leftovers to pack for lunch a few days. I definitely would say I got my $8.50 out of that turkey.

Turkey Soup

To make the soup, I submerged the turkey (breast) carcass (skin all removed, but some meat here and there still sticking to the bone) in water in a pan. I added about 6 cups of water and set it to a simmer. I cut up a few baby carrots and a stalk of celery. I added a bay leaf. I let it all simmer for 2 hours, adding water as necessary to keep it submerged. After two hours, I strained everything, putting the stock back in the pan. I cleaned the carcass removing all meat and adding it to the stock. I disposed the bones as I went. Then, I took the carrots and celery and put them back in the stock. I added 3/4 c of Pastina pasta to the dish. These little stars were the perfect size pasta for our soup. I brought it up to a boil and cooked it for about 10 minutes, to allow the pasta to cook.

The review - amazing. It was simple and tasty. We had it for dinner on Sunday, a nice light dinner after our big lunch of turkey. We also ate it as leftovers the next night for dinner and it was perhaps even a little better, with the pasta continuing to absorb the flavor of the broth. Making it with breast meat, it also was reasonably healthy.

Have you tried something new this week? Share your experience in the comments or leave a link to your blog.