GiGi's Turkey Soup

A truly tasty post-Thanksgiving dish!

After you've devoured your Thanksgiving turkey, pulled all the big pieces of meat off the carcass (to save for sandwiches) and thrown away all the really yucky fatty parts (and extra skin), you are left with an unappetizing heap of bones and stuff. Freeze it in ziploc bags for later, like I always do, or make some soup right away! My Grandma makes this yummy turkey soup and it's so good. And, a nice departure from "traditional" turkey noodle soup (which is also quite tasty).

Put turkey carcass* (mostly bones) in a big pot; barely cover with water and boil (simmer) for about 4 hours, covered. Cool a little and strain into another big pot. Pick enough meat off the bones to include in the soup; about one large cereal bowl full is good. Put broth pot on the stove and add: about 3 big carrots, 2-3 ribs celery, and 1/2 an onion, all chopped. Boil until veggies are tender. (I like to strain some of the fat off the top of the broth before adding the veggies - there may not be much fat, depending on the condition of your turkey carcass.) Add: about 30 oz. canned diced tomatoes (with juice), a can of whole kernel corn (drained), 1 or 2 handfuls of rice, and a decent handful of spaghetti, broken into small pieces. Season with salt (quite a bit - think of all those tomatoes & veggies that need salting! But don't oversalt it...), pepper, season salt, sage (not much), thyme (not much), oregano, basil. Cook until spaghetti is soft. If you do this shortly after Thanksgiving, you can put in some leftover gravy and even stuffing. Yum! This makes a lot of soup, and it freezes well too! I recommend eating this delicious soup with some homemade rolls, as shown.

* If you're starting with a frozen turkey carcass, let it thaw at least partway so you can pack it into a pot better, so your broth will be more flavorful.