Coming from parents who lived through the Great Depression, I suppose they instilled in me the old adage, “Waste not, want not.” And, that philosophy applied to the way I was taught to cook. Mom never threw out the leftover turkey bones after the bird was carved, and we were happy about it since we knew the next day we’d be eating a delicious soup made from those bones, which then would be thrown away.
Soup made from the bones of a home-baked turkey is so flavorful since more meat is left on them than you’d expect. In addition, the bones give the soup a hint of the sage and poultry seasoning that was used to season the turkey before it was baked.
If you’ve had your fill of turkey after Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can always freeze the turkey bones and use them to make soup later.
The following Turkey Bone Soup recipe makes a great, colorful soup for the Christmas holidays since it has red tomatoes and green baby lima beans. So, if you’ve frozen the turkey bones from your Thanksgiving dinner, I recommend trying this soup. It freezes well, so you can make a big batch and freeze it until you need it for a quick lunch or dinner when you’re busy Christmas shopping or preparing holiday treats.
TURKEY BONE SOUP
Turkey bones and trimmings from a 9- to 10-pound turkey
2 1/2 quarts of water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup diagonally cut fresh baby carrots
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
1 (14-ounce) can diced, garlic roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 cup instant rice
Break up turkey bones to fit in a 5-quart Dutch oven. Add water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low: cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bones and meat from broth; cool. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Discard bones.
In a small skillet (without oil), toast rice over medium-high heat until golden, shaking skillet frequently so rice does not burn. Set aside.
Skim fat from broth. Add rice, carrots, onions, lima beans, sugar and seasonings to broth in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until rice and vegetables are tender. Add turkey and tomatoes to soup. Simmer until thoroughly heated. Serves 6 to 8.
Note: Do not substitute regular rice for instant. Also if soup becomes too thick, add a little water as needed. If turkey from the bones doesn’t equal 3 cups, add additional cut-up cooked turkey.
To freeze soup, ladle it into a family-sized freezer container, allowing 1 1/4 inches of space at the top. To thaw, place container in refrigerator overnight or use microwave on defrost setting.
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