Disclaimer: GoodCook sent me a basket of goodies for Thanksgiving that I used to help make this post possible. All opinions are my own.
I’m not a big fan of leftovers. Truthfully, we rarely ever have leftovers, but when we do my husband loves to take them to work and that is just fine by me.
The one time of year I don’t mind leftovers is Thanksgiving. I can eat Thanksgiving leftovers 2-3 times before I get bored (It’s monday after thanksgiving now and I’m just about done, LOL).
Sometimes though, all it takes is repurposing those leftovers to make me excited for them again.
One of my favorite things to do after eating Thanksgiving dinner, is to make turkey broth with the turkey carcass.
It’s so super simple and it makes a TON of healthy, nutritious bone broth!
That was a good thing this year since all of us ended up sick shortly after Thanksgiving! I had enough to make my family a big pot of soup, and I also gave some to my SIL who has sickness in her household right now as well.
This year I made my typical traditional turkey soup, with one exception.
My MIL made the world’s most amazing gravy this year. It’s ALWAYS good, but this year it was beyond good. I wanted a creamier soup than broth, so I used some of the gravy (we had a massive amount leftover) to thicken the soup to the consistency I wanted.
It also acted as an amazing flavor base for the soup!
Top your soup with some cranberry and you have a warm comforting bowl of Thanksgiving with very little effort!
We utilized a lot of the goodies given to us by GoodCook during our Thanksgiving dinner. Be sure to check out the GoodCook website for all of your kitchenware needs!
Here’s my basic recipe, but feel free to throw in whatever sounds good to you!
Ingredients:
- One turkey carcass
- veggies of your choice (I used carrots, celery and onion) for soup and also for making the broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- turkey meat
- precooked rice (cold)
- salt & pepper
- Savory spice mix (I just learned of this mix this year. I found it at Target. It’s my new fave!)
- Leftover homemade gravy (must have been thickened with flour)
Directions:
- Place your turkey carcass in a big stock pot. I usually add some cut up carrots, celery and onion to this as well. Add in some seasonings to taste.
- Let your turkey broth simmer as long as possible (I probably let mine simmer about 8 hours, but should have gone a bit longer). You could even try to do this in a crockpot if your turkey fit.
- Strain the solids from your broth. At this point, you can let your broth cool if you intend to store it. Otherwise set aside.
- In a deep pot, melt your butter and then sautee your veggies (the diced ones) until they are softened.
- Add as much gravy as you want and create a sort of roux with the veggies and the gravy.
- Pour your broth in a bit at a time, stirring to incorporate the gravy.
- Let simmer until veggies are soft. Add leftover turkey and cook until heated through.
- Place cold rice in bowls and pour soup over the rice.
- Top with cranberry sauce if you desire!
It’s a great way to change up the Thanksgiving leftovers, and you should have plenty of turkey broth leftover to make this soup a few times this winter!
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out all these other awesome Thanksgiving leftover recipes as well!
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