Guess what I had for breakfast today?
Nope… nope… nope… (to whatever you guessed) I actually had soup.
Yes. For breakfast. I’m kinda weird like that. I like to eat “out of the box” when it comes to meals sometimes. I mean who (besides my hubbie) doesn’t love having pancakes for dindin once in awhile? Right…? Now as gripping a storyline as this is thus far, I’m not actually here to chat about my breakfast habits. It’s really just a quick follow-up to yesterday’s post, “Thanksgiving dinner; repurposed”.
Yesterday was all about the actual leftover food; but – as I told you yesterday – I don’t like to waste anything! Including the (Ugh!) turkey carcass. So into a big soup pot it went yesterday with anything I could round up out of the refrigerator… onions, celery, garlic cloves, carrots, whole peppercorns and a huge handful of fresh herbs. Covered the pot with water, brought it to a boil, then reduced the heat and slow simmered for the better part of the afternoon. Once everything tasted “done”, I let everything cool for awhile. Once it was cool, I strained all of the solids out so that all that was left was a delicious hearty turkey broth. Easy peasy!!
Now, at this point, if you are asking yourself why in the heck I didn’t just toss that doggone carcass back in the very beginning; allow me to enlighten you. There are several great reasons. First of all, the house smells all warm and “comfort food-ish” for the entire day while the broth is on the stove. Second; Preparing for flu season. Who doesn’t love homemade chicken (or turkey) soup when they are down and out with the flu? I package up little baggies of homemade broth and stick them in the freezer so that I am ready to roll when someone is down and out. (Thaw the broth and add a little cooked rice or pasta… Voila!) Finally; Dinner. This was easy. Already had some leftover (cooked) pasta and oven roasted tomatoes from the night before. Into the pot they went. Along with a can of pinto beans and some (precooked) turkey meatballs that I had in my freezer (Thank you Trader Joes). The point is – Use what you have on hand. Keep it simple!
So that about wraps it up for our leftover 2014 Thanksgiving feast. OMGosh – Wait… the ham! Forgot about the hambone. Alrighty then. Looks like a little split pea soup is on the menu!? Ahhh…Thanksgiving. It’s just the gift that keeps on givin’…