Foodie Friday: GF Turkey Noodle Soup

We eat a lot of soup during the colder months, and this minimalist food challenge has renewed my craving for soup! There are several batches of soup in the freezer that we've been eating up, but this is one I'll make new again next week after we have turkey on Thanksgiving.

Making soup is a great way to utilize the turkey bones that might otherwise be discarded, as well as a fresh new way to serve leftover turkey if your family is getting tired of warmed up plates of holiday dinner. Plus, soup is comfort food, and I can't get enough of it on these cool and rainy Fall days!


If you plan to freeze your soup to eat later, I advise leaving the noodles separate and adding them in to individual bowls. In my experience, cooked noodles don't thaw and reheat well, so it's best to cook them fresh to add to your soup when you're ready to eat it.

Even if you don't decide to make soup, at least make some turkey stock from the bones to freeze and use later for soups and such. Making bone stock is very simple, and you'll save money by using the bones you've already bought rather than purchasing canned stock later.

You will need:

Turkey stock (about 4 cups)
4 Cups of water
Equal parts carrots, onions, celery
A couple cloves of garlic, minced (or one giant one)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Quinoa or rice pasta, shape of your choice (8oz)
Turkey meat, cubed (about 4 cups)
Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how:

• In a large stock pot, make some turkey stock. Simple, easy, hearty and delicious!
  
• In a large skillet, saute the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in a little bit of the fat rendered from your turkey stock.
  
• Add the vegetables to the stock and water and simmer until tender. 
• Add the chunks of turkey meat to the stock and simmer while your pasta cooks.
  
• Salt and oil the pasta water, and cook noodles according to package directions, then drain.
  
• Add the noodles to the soup pot, along with the cayenne, salt and pepper.
• Serve hot!

What's your favorite way to give new life to Thanksgiving leftovers?