Stinking AWESOME crock pot turkey soup, turkey stock and turkey consume.

Crock pot WIN!! WOOOOOT. This was a hit with the family. Pixie, my little 2 year old asked for more 6 times. WHAT!? This came out of a crock pot. Awesomeness. Of course it's just turkey stock, carrots, celery, leftover turkey, pasta and peas. But still. And I made the stock in a pot, the turkey was cooked... OK whatever, I put it all in the crock pot alright!? (You can do this on the stove also, but I had things to do- erm like ... go to the mall.)

Let's start with the stock. You know that zip top bag you keep in the freezer of vegetable scraps? You know when you cut carrots ends, have celery that's going to go bad if you don't use it, half an onion that won't be used, the asparagus ends you trimmed off, cilantro/parsley stalks,  that? All those vegetables you put into that bag just waiting for stock? Pull it out. Put it into a big pot with the turkey bones from your turkey. If you didn't use the turkey neck for stock to make gravy, throw that in the pot also with some garlic, whole peppercorns a bay leaf if you'd like. Add water to just cover, bring it to a rolling boil. Once boiling turn it down to a simmer for two hours. Pour the liquid gold through a fine sieve and discard any bones/vegetables/spices. Let it cool and skim off the fat. Then you can use it right away, freeze it in an ice cube tray or muffin tin and then transfer to a zip top bag to store in the freezer for later use. Perfect for anytime you need broth or stock- in soups, gravy, stuffing, stir fry and more.

The soup. Turn the crock pot on high, add the stock (mine was from the refrigerator). I had Diva peel some carrots while I chopped the celery. I chopped the carrots and then put everything in the crock pot. I left it on for 6 hours. 30-45 minutes before serving stir in uncooked pasta- DH did this because I was... ermm at the mall. Once pasta is tender stir in shredded turkey and frozen peas. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Soup.

Fried turkey.

This year DH fried two turkeys. One was enough for everyone with enough leftovers after we sent extras home with everyone. This one pictured is a cold fried turkey LOL. DH purchased an oil less fryer and it worked wonderfully. I seasoned both turkeys with a dry rub. One with traditional spices and the other with Cajun spices. The cool thing about the oil less fryer is that there is a drip pan to catch all the drippings. OH MY GOODNESS. Once the drippings cooled I skimmed off the fat and had a FANTASTIC turkey consume. OH MY YUM. I put it into an ice cube tray to freeze. I can't wait to use it!