Turkey Soup - National Soup Month

1 leftover turkey carcass

5 qts. water

3 c cubed turkey

1 large onion

2 carrots, sliced

1 c chopped celery

10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach

3/4 c fresh or frozen peas

3/4 c uncooked rice

4 chicken bouillon cubes

3/4 tsp pepper

3/4 tsp dried marjoram

3/4 dried thyme

Place the turkey carcass and water into a soup kettle. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove carcass and discard. (Make sure there are no stray bones in the broth.) Skim fat if necessary (but probably won't be with turkey). Stock may be frozen for up to 6 months.

Add vegetables, rice, bouillon and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until everything is tender. Add turkey cubes to heat up in the last 10 minutes or so.

Yield: Lots

Notes: I used some wild rice from the freezer instead of what was called for here; it was very good. Also, the vegetables you use are all pretty optional - these are good choices. The spinach made it a lot like Italian Wedding Soup without the meatballs. The bouillon called for in this recipe was just a good amount of salt. Also, I added my leftover turkey gravy from the day before to this recipe. Very good!

My dad who has memories of growing up in very lean times would call this Turkey Carcass Soup, and would consider it a capital waste to throw away a perfectly good turkey carcass without making soup of it.