Save the Turkey Soup

So in an effort to lose weight and save money, I'm cooking more now. I've got my turkey recipe just about right:

That's one fine looking bird.

But as always, the issue is eating all that turkey before it goes bad. I've discovered that freezing it straight out usually doesn't work so well. So instead, we go the route of turkey sandwiches out the wazoo. And this time around, I attempted a turkey soup that turned out so well I thought I'd post it here.

Basically you strip your turkey after it's done and save the meat. Also save the turkey drippings and bones--save everything but the gross bits that remind you of Eli Roth films (in my case, I cook the giblets in the pan for extra flavor and then throw out the liver, heart, etc., and the spine). The rest of the stripped bones you can throw into a slow cooker and add the turkey drippings (in my case, I initially cooked the turkey in 4 quarts of chicken boullion with some added herbs). Maybe add a little more water if the crock looks low--you're shooting for half-full with liquid.

You cook the bones in the drippings and water for about 2 hrs for flavor, then fish out all of the bones. Cut up about 2-3 cups of leftover turkey into small bite-size portions and dump it in. Then do the same with about 2 cups carrots, 1 cup celery, and 1 cup red potatos (or adjust to your preference). Cook for about another hour until it all comes to a boil and all the veggies are cooked through.

Then I portioned it up into single-servings in tupperwares for freezing (how cool is that?--now I can freeze the turkey without losing taste!). Salt to your preference before eating:

The awesome part is it's mostly turkey and veggies, so it's healthy and keeps your system moving. It's a good start for weight loss, as I've found. You can eat it like a soup with more liquid or like a veggie bowl with less, and all the colors from the orange carrots, green celery, and red potatos make it very appetizing.

Enjoy!

Alula