Post Thanksgiving Turkey and Rice Soup..... a no brainer!

Ok, two days after Thanksgiving and you are sick of looking at the bird and the leftovers.  Hopefully you haven't tossed the bones, because that is truly nectar on the hoof... well claw....  Assuming you are like me, and save EVERY chicken carcass, turkey carcass, ham bone and lobster shell to make stock out of, you still have the ole girl in the fridge.  GREAT!!  My carcass was so big, had to split it up between my 8qt stock pot and my 5.5 qt Le Creuset pot.  This soup is SO simple, I have never actually written the recipe down - primarily because it changes every time, depending on what I have on hand.  Here is the recipe - the best thing about this is you can put whatever you feel like into it and it will taste awesome!  Here is the recipe for the stock:

Turkey Stock:

I had to split the bird into two pots

1 Turkey carcass after it has been picked clean, including any jellied fat from the platter - plus wings, and leg/thigh bones
1 Bouquet Garnis - or a sprinkling of rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano ) I put one in each pot - plus a sprinkling of the herbs.
1 tbs salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 onion, quartered with skin
4 cloves of garlic crushed with skin
4 carrots, quartered
4 stalks of celery, including leaves

 I also added leftover carrot/turnip casserole, some fresh parsely, some leftover roasted Brussels Sprouts - you get the idea.

Fill the pot to about 1 inch below rim, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 3 or 4 hours. Cover for the first hour, then let simmer open. Add water when the level gets about 2 inches down, the longer it simmers, the better.  Let it reduce again to about 2 inches below top, and cool.

Strain the water through a pasta strainer - bits and pieces of stuff are fine in the broth.  Discard the solids, and refrigerate.

For the Soup:

To the stock, add:

5 carrots, 3 celery stalks, split in half, then chopped into 1/4 inch thick pieces

A nice fire helps with the soup experience!

Leftover turkey meat, cubed into about 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup mixed rice ( white, red, and wild) or just wild rice
3 cups water to thin the stock
Any leftover mashed potatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes.
Some spinach for color.

Add water carrots, celery and rice to the broth, and bring to a boil.  Simmer for an hour, then add turkey, potatoes, spinach and anything else you feel like tossing in.  Cook for 1/2 hour till all is warmed... serve with thick bread, and a nice white wine!

Enjoy!