Sweet Potato & Noodle Soup

This recipe is a great way to use up leftover vegetables.

Ingredients
sweet potatoes (3 large potatoes)
onion (1 medium or half a large onion)
garlic (1 or 2 cloves)
celery (4 or 5 stalks)
carrots (3 large or 5 small)
water (enough to cover vegetables plus about a cup extra)
noodles (I use Country Pantry – Homemade Style Egg Noodles. You want a thicker noodle, so regular egg noodles won’t work well and will be mushy.)
basil
oregano
sage
salt
pepper
butter
cinnamon

cream

Peel carrots and potatoes. Slice into even sized pieces. Slice celery. Chop onion and finely mince garlic. In a small sauce pan melt butter, and add onion and garlic. Season with a dash of salt and pepper and cook until onions are translucent, and you get some browning on the bottom of the pan. In a large stew pot add potatoes, carrots, and celery. Fill with water to completely submerge vegetables and then add another cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Add onions and garlic and bring to a slow boil. After boiling add basil, oregano, and sage. I have no clue how much I add. Maybe a teaspoon of each. Let simmer until potatoes are falling apart and carrots are softened. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and about a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Add noodles and let simmer until noodles are softened. Now, this is where the recipes can get a bit dicey. If the soup hasn’t thickened, add roughly a 1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup cream and simmer for a few minutes longer. This should thicken the soup and make it rich and creamy. However, if your soup has thickened enough due the the potatoes and noodles absorbing the water you can choose to leave the cream out if you’d like a bit of a healthier version. Or, add the cream in even if it’s thickened.

Garnish with several triangles of Havarti cheese and avocado. You can garnish with bread croutons or eat this with a grilled chicken breast and a slice of crusty bread.

Anyone else tired of turkey? I know I am. I’ve eaten more than enough turkey sandwiches for this holiday season.

Which, in the Mini Skirt world means…It’s time for Leftover Turkey Stew.
Which I, of course, freeze. And save for a later date, when I’m not wore out on turkey.

Ingredients

2 cups very strong turkey stock
4 cups water
Turkey – cut and shredded slightly
Carrots
Onions
Celery
Potatos
Dill
Thyme
Sage
Sea Salt
Sweet Basil

Now. I don’t really have any measurements for this recipe because I tend to go by the “That looks like enough” method of cooking this stew. Okay, I’ll be honest. I go by this method in just about anything I cook. It’s just who I am.

Turkey stock.
I make my own. You can use chicken stock. To make my turkey stock I throw the turkey carcass in a big stew pot, add enough water to cover. I then add a little sea salt, a few dashes of sage, some thyme and sweet basil and I let this simmer until the water reduces by half, or about 2 hours. I then use a colander, and drain the “broth” out of the pot and throw away the leftover pieces. This is just my method. There are plenty of other choices and recipes out there.

Now, to make the Turkey Stew.
Pour turkey stock and water into a large stew pot. Add carrots, celery, onions and bring to a slow boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and add spices. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Add turkey. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. At this point, if your stew hasn’t thickend, mix a little water and flour or cornstarch and slowly pour into stew, stirring while pouring. This can be a soup or a stew, depending upon your choice and tastes. I prefer a thick stew.

I let this cool, and then ladle into my food saver bags, and freeze.

When I need a quick meal this winter, I’ll just pull one of these bags out of the freezer, put a pot of water on the stove, add the bag of Turkey Stew, and bring the water to a boil and boil for 10-20 minutes. Perfect!