Turkey Noodle Soup

Hard to believe that I am talking turkey a month after Christmas!  But the turkey leftovers are long gone, except for the turkey that my Dad froze for us after he cleaned off the turkey at Christmas - and so, it is time for a Turkey Noodle Soup.  Here is my recipe:

Turkey Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups turkey or chicken stock (I used organic chicken stock)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon parsley
2 cups egg noodles
2 cups of turkey, diced

In a large pot, sauté the onions in the olive oil until the onions start to soften, approximately 3 minutes.  Add in the minced garlic.  Sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Add in the chicken stock, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat.  Add in the potato cubes, simmer for 5 minutes.  Add in the carrots, celery, red pepper flakes, pepper and parsley.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Add in the noodles and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add the diced turkey, allow the turkey to warm through.  Serve and enjoy!

VERDICT
A nice, hearty soup in the middle of winter, no matter how mild winter is this year :-)  A nice change to chicken noodle soup.  Tasted great!

Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry

Ahh yes, turkey leftovers.  We hosted Christmas dinner at our house this year, which means we had lots of turkey leftovers.  I got to experiment and try some new to me recipes for those turkey leftovers.  This time we went for a delicious Turkey Pot Pie, great comfort food!

Here is my recipe:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup carrot, washed, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup peppers (I used red and yellow)
2 stalks celery, washed and sliced
2 1/2 cups turkey or chicken broth (I used organic chicken broth)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups turkey, chopped
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
Puff Pastry (2 sheets)

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add in the onions, sauté until soft.  Add in the other vegetables, continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat, pour in the white wine, continue to cook until the wine has cooked off.  Add in the chicken broth and seasoning, bring to a boil.  Add in the flour to thicken.  Once thickened, add in the turkey, heat through.

Line a pie plate with puff pastry (I used the pre-made butter puff pastry, found in the frozen food section), fill the pie with the turkey mixture.  Top with another sheet of puff pastry.  Pinch the two sheets of pastry together, add in a few "breathing holes" on top of the pie (I just used a knife to cut a few slits into the top of the pie). 

Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top of pie is golden.

Serve and enjoy!

VERDICT:
This was a big hit with our family.  Everyone inhaled their dinner...and my hubby asked if I was making another one for dinner the next night.  Looks like this is a keeper :-)

Meal Plan Monday

Hello everyone! How were your Christmas holidays?  We had a fantastic time, celebrating with family and friends.  We've had lots of company, which has been very fun.  We are looking forward to a quiet New Year's Eve and a few more days off before it's back to school and back to work (for me, my hubby went back to work on the 27th).  Now that we are getting back into a routine (and now that we have finally run out of turkey!) - I am back to meal-planning.  Here is our meal plan for this week:

Sunday - Homemade Turkey Soup (recipe coming soon!), Dinner Buns


Monday - Slow Cooker Meatballs, Rice and Corn

Tuesday - Tandoori BBQ Pork Chops, Perogies, Grilled Peppers

Wednesday - Steak, Baked Potato, Caramelized Brussel Sprouts, Green Salad

Thursday - Beef Stroganoff (recipe coming soon!), Green Salad

Friday - Sweet & Sour Chicken, Rice, Green Salad

Saturday - Leftovers / Fridge Clean Out (we have a busy day at the hockey rink, no time to cook, good thing for leftovers!)

See you next week, for my first meal plan for 2014!

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Ham is a rare meal in our house,  and when we have ham, we always end up with tonnes of leftovers.  We all know that I love making soup and have been on a real soup kick this year, but I didn't want to make Ham and Split Pea Soup (not that I don't like it, I just wasn't in the mood.  I wanted a creamy soup...and there is the recipe that I found:

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup (Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups chicken broth

3 1/2 cups potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery, washed and diced
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk

Pour the chicken broth into a stockpot.

Add in the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot and ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook over medium until potatoes are tender.  This will take about 15 minutes (depending on how big your potato pieces are). Add in the salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Slowly stir in milk. Continue to constantly stir over medium-low heat until thick, approximately 5 minutes.

Slowly add the milk mixture into the ham mixture in the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately.

We topped our soup with cheddar and chives.

VERDICT:
Yum.  Just plain yum.  I loved this soup, and ate a lot of it.  This makes a big pot of soup so you will have leftovers.  I am almost looking forward to fall, when on a cool fall day, this soup will be just perfect!

Christmas Leftover Linky

Christmas has come and gone...and oh what a Christmas it was! We had a wonderful time celebrating with my family, my brother and sister-in-law hosted, and in a few days we will celebrate with my in-laws as they are coming to visit!  I feel so spolied to be surrounded with loving family and friends! Santa was good to us....hope he was good to you too!

Now that all the cooking and baking is done, the next big question is...what to do with all the leftovers?!  And so...this link party was born.  I invite you to share your posts with recipes for Christmas leftovers!  Help all us fellow cooks out!  I look forward to reading all of your recipes :-)