Weekend Recap Part II: Turkey Soup

Yesterday was ANOTHER snow storm here in New England. Luckily there was football to keep us entertained for a chunk of the day because the roads really we're great for driving. To me, these are the perfect cooking days.

Snowy COLD day + that awful feeling like you may better getting a cold = Turkey Soup of course! (does anyone else get that tingly feeling behind their nose that kind of clues you into a cold coming? I immediately slammed 2 Emergen-C's)

After the Thanksgiving Extravaganza that we had at the apt back in November, I save the leftover turkey bones and some meat and toss it in the freezer until I want to make soup.

Unfortunately we didn't have the massive amount of meat as we did last year...because that made some killer turkey chili...oh well.

First I put the bones/meat, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion, and 2 bay leaves into a large pot and fill with water. I then simmered this for about 2 hours.

I couldn't find any barley at the grocery store, but I did have a package of wheat berries I had yet to open in my cabinet, so I decided those would be the grain in my soup. I was worried they wouldn't cook fast enough in the soup, so I wanted to start their cooking process before adding them.

Before proceeding with the soup, I had to remove all the bones and other stuff you don't want in the soup.

Then I chopped up more carrots, celery, and onions... and this time some garlic.I let these cook for about 30min, then add the par-cooked wheat berries, salt, and pepper.

NOTE: If using wheat berries again, I don't think I would pre-cook them again...it really wasn't necessary.

Then I added a BOATLOAD of frozen veggies: corn, peas, green beans, spinach, and broccoli.

Holy Veggies!
It was late by this time but I had to have a taste!I decided I wanted a tad more umph to the flavor, so I added about 2T of tomato paste! That did the trick.

Guess what I had for lunch???

Yup...Soup! (I'll be eating this for days!! I did freeze some though)

With my soup I had some pita bread and hummus....mmmm.
Love getting all those veggies in 1 bowl.

Well my "cold" hasn't really blown up into a full blown cold yet, but I have felt extra tired all day and I'm a tiny bit stuffy. This put a damper on my gym trip :( I hate that!! But I have ZERO energy...so its early to bed for me.

See you in the AM :)