Still Workin' Those Thanksgiving Leftovers...Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

I have two favorite days of the entire year:  4th of July and Black Friday.  In fact, I think if I had to choose, Black Friday would come in first.  And it's not for the reason you'd think.  No, I'm not much of a shopper.  In fact, I hate shopping (except on the internet).  And I hate getting up early.  But I LOVE....repeat, LOVE(!) Black Friday....no getting up early for me, and I never leave the house. 

No, Black Friday has a whole other meaning for me than for most people.  It means NO COOKING  and NO CLEANING,  because after a week of Thanksgiving prep work, all the cleaning is done, and there's a house full of leftovers to eat, which means everyone is on their own. 

For one precious day, I get to sleep in, then drink coffee, and read, or blog, or read blogs, to my little heart's content.  And I get to do some stamping (card making with rubber stamps), or crafting, or whatever I want to do.  I don't have to think about meals even ONCE, for an entire day...oh it's so sweet.  SO sweet.   Just a little taste of heaven.  It's Mama's turn to have a holiday.

I did do one thing on Black Friday though...I took the drumsticks and wings of the turkey carcass and made stock in my pressure cooker.  I gotta say, this is my new favorite way of making stock.  It's simply turkey (or chicken or beef) bones, bay leaves and peppercorns, and a bit of vinegar (when I remember to add it), onions and celery if they are available, and water.  Bring it up to pressure and cook 35 minutes.  Release the pressure by the natural method (just remove from burner and let it cool until it's depressurized), and voila...some of the richest, most beautiful stock you've ever seen.  AND it doesn't tie up my slow cooker all day, or infest the house with the smell of stock (which is lovely, but not when it lingers on our clothes for three days....).

Saturday I used that gorgeous stock to make turkey and wild rice soup.  I threw it in the crock pot at 8:00, then we headed outdoors for some fun in the sunny but COLD weather.  When we returned home at 1:30, hungry and cold, it was ready to eat--so warming with a cup of hot coffee and leftover piece of gluten-free lefse (a Norwegian flatbread made out of mashed potatoes). 

This soup is truly one of my all-time favorites.  The original comes from Stephanie O'Dea, and is located right HERE.  It's fabulous on it's own, but I've made changes to suit my family's tastes, so I'm going to give you my version:

8 cups turkey stock
3 to 4 cups water
2/3 c. uncooked wild rice
1 cup chopped celery
1 T. dehydrated onions
1 cup chopped carrots
1 tsp poultry seasoning
about 1/4 c. dehydrated kale (broken into little flakes)

Add all of the above to 6 qt crock pot.  Cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hrs. (until rice is soft and thoroughly cooked and veggies are tender)

Then add:

Whatever Turkey meat you have leftover, chopped or shredded.
Season with salt and pepper to taste (usually I use about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper)

Serve and enjoy.

I never add cooked meat until the end of the cook time, because all that does is leave you with rubbery, tasteless chunks of what-used-to-be delicious, tender meat!  The soup is plenty hot at the end of 5 or 6 hrs.  I just toss the chopped meat in, give it a stir for a few minutes til it heats through.

That's all there is to it.  This soup is super-simple to make, chock-full of nutrients, and delicious to boot.  AND, it heats up beautifully the next day for lunch.  I almost like it even better then next day.

Well, enjoy friends.  Today I'm making a beefy shepherd's pie topped with the leftover dairy-free mashed potatoes.  See, I'm still eeking it out around here.  Gathering up some fragments, and saving myself some effort in the process.  I'll report on the shepherd's pie tomorrow...until then, soup on my dears.  

Here's one of the Christmas cards I made on Black Friday.  This is the front of the card...

 

And this is the back!