Mexican Turkey Soup

Mexican Turkey Soup

• 11.24.2012

The best part about Thanksgiving is that you almost already know what you are getting before the day  even starts. The turkey is the family recipe, mashed potatoes are how the family likes them, and the same goes for the consistency of the squash and whether or not there is a green bean casserole.

Maybe you come from a family that likes variety .... but I think that's probably a lie. 

After about 10 solid years (I'm guessing) of having the same rolls for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinner ... my mom got different rolls this year. After one bite, I had proclaimed my distain for the new rolls ... and consensus revealed we would return to the pre-existing champion. Funny story ... one Easter it is rumored that I ate 8 rolls in one sitting. I can confirm that this actually happened.

Post holiday dinner, my mom always divides up the leftovers and sends them packing in different directions. The turkey carcass sometimes ends up at my Aunt's house for soup ... but this year I managed to keep my grubby hands on it. My aunt turns it into this southwestern turkey soup that has a bit of noodles, a bit of vegetables, and maybe a jar of salsa? Regardless, it's good.

I started off my turkey adventures by turning a solid amount of it into broth - which was a bit of a success. Although, it's challenging to attest to that just from the broth ... instead you need to see the soup that I used the broth for. 

I did some solid googling to see what I should do with a turkey carcass and nobody was really all that helpful. I was either going to go the route of a modified shepherd's pie situation ... or a modified turkey soup. I went soup. HOLLA FOR SOUP SEASON. 

For a twist on the boring ole soup, I tossed in some cilantro, cumin, and chili pepper flavoring. The best was trying to describe to my dad what cilantro looks like ... and where I remembered it being in our local grocery store. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty exciting being on the phone with him when he found it.

So here's how it goes.

(Step 1) In your soup pot, add the diced carrot, celery, onion and garlic to a smidge of olive oil. Nothing new here. Let the veggies cook until they are softened at medium heat. Should be about 5 minutes or so.

(Step 2) Add the broth to the pot and bring it to a boil.

(Step 3) Reduce to a simmer and add in the diced chili pepper.

(Step 4) In a separate bowl (or super large measuring cup... if you are that lucky), whisk the milk with the cumin and chili pepper and then add to the soup pot.

(Step 5) Reduce the heat to a simmer and add in the diced / shredded turkey along with the corn and cilantro. 

(Step 6) Cover and simmer until the new ingredients are warm .... which is essentially minutes.

(Step 7) Serve / eat / enjoy / love.

adapted from this recipe 

Shopping List

2 large carrot, peeled and chopped

3 stalk celery, chopped

1 cup chopped yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups turkey stock or broth

1/2 green chili pepper diced without seeds

2 cups 1% milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 cups shredded turkey

3/4 cup corn, fresh or frozen

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro