Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Pasta Soup

Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast hosts a great weekly food event called Presto Pasta Nights.  She posts a round up every Friday of the previous week's great pasta dishes. 

I'm getting back into the groove of  pasta night with my turkey leftovers in a pasta soup last night.  It's all about the broth, comforting in its turkey goodness with an attention-getting mix of pasta shapes to devour.

One of the interesting little secrets about this soup was that I followed Gene's initiative and spooned it over some leftover dressing from Thanksgiving.  It may sound odd but it's really yummy, giving the soup just an extra weight and oomph, turning it from "just soup" into a full meal for Gene.

I'm not going to give an exact recipe because it was more of throw together thing but I'll walk you through the steps.

First, I threw the leftover turkey legs and part of a thigh into the pot.

Covered them with water, and added seasonings without measuring:  sauteed onion and carrot, dried celery flakes, dried green and red pepper flakes, paprika, thyme, pepper, and a couple of teaspoons of vegetable soup base.  I simmered this on low for an hour then boned the turkey into big bite chunks.

Then I added 2 cups of a rainbow pasta mix filled with several different shapes and simmered another 15 minutes until the pasta cooked but wasn't mushy. Easy as pie. Well, actually, the pie was harder but you know what I mean.

Comments

[TexanNewYorker]

This is just what my friend Sarah did with the leftover turkey from our ex-pat Thanksgiving in Argentina this year. It was budget friendly AND delicious!

[Kalyn]

Sounds great. I love this type of soup.

[Cynthia]

Soups always come to the rescue after these big feasts huh :)

[Lydia]

Adding leftover stuffing to soup is a trick I discovered by accident many years ago. It's a wonderful way to add bulk and flavor to turkey soup, which on its own can be somewhat bland. Your soup looks delicious.

[sher]

It looks soooo good--and I love the addition of the stuffing. Keep up with the inspiration Gene!!!

[Ruth]

I wish I had some right now! It looks delicious and thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

[Glenna]

Thanks y'all!

[Katie]

More than anything else about Thanksgiving I miss the turkey carcass...
Great looking soup. I love the different pasta in in...How fun!

[Fruittart]

Pretty soup! We did something similar but I'm going to have to remember the dressing addition. I don't think there's a single person in our house who'd turn that away! What's not to love about more carbs?! ;-)

[Glenna]

Katie--Love that comment--I have SO enjoyed out turkey carcass this year!

Fruittart--I know. Our society is so anti-carbs these days, isn't it? But come on! There was nothing in that soup that was bad for us and even with the stuffing it was low cal compared to other meals. But still...the carb guilt lingers on in the back of my head...

[pasta dishes]

Pasta dishes are the food which is a kind of eatable which can made more delicious by combining with meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, or even a simple herb sauce to create a mouthwatering and nutritious meal within minutes.