what I did with leftover turkey : )

YUM! I found this recipe a few days ago on Food Network and I have modified it a little bit . . . the original recipe can be found here, but exactly what I did is below:

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Dumplings

Ingredients

Carcass from one 12-14 pound roasted turkey, picked clean
2 large onions, one quartered and one chopped
4 peeled carrots, 2 coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
4 stalks celery, 2coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
6 garlic cloves, 4 minced and 2 chopped
1 bay leaf
10 whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon vegetable base
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons Kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups leftover stuffing
1 tablespoon of thyme leaves
2 cups shredded leftover turkey meat

Directions

Put the turkey carcass, quartered onions, coarsely chopped carrots and celery, smashed garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to just cover, about 2 quarts. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain the solids from the broth. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and reserve; you should have about 10-12 cups broth.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined; cover and reserve.

Wipe the stockpot clean with a paper towel. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the sliced carrots and celery, thyme and 2 tablespoons of Better than Bouillon vegetable base. Stir well to combine. Add reserved broth and bring to a simmer; cook until vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes. (This is where I added another tablespoon of kosher salt - taste before you do this as the bouillon base is quite salty.)

Roll level tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into balls with wet hands (see note) and drop into the simmering soup; cook until dumplings float, 3-4 minutes. Gently stir in the turkey meat and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Adjust seasoning by adding salt and pepper to taste. It should be very flavorful. Serve immediately.

Note: Moistness of stuffing can vary; if the dumpling dough is too soft to roll, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it is firm enough to hold its shape while rolling.

This soup was soooo delicious! I did boil some egg noodles and added them at the very end, but it could do without as well, and the original recipe does not call for any pasta or rice. If you do choose to add egg noodles, consider the country style noodles that come in a bag as they don't fall apart as much. We had this soup with leftover homemade croissants. One thing I will point out is that the stuffing dumplings do have a "mush" texture to them similar to what the bread in a bowl of french onion soup has. Joe mentioned he would enjoy the soup more without the stuffing dumplings, but the stuffing was just too good so the texture didn't bother me or change my opinion on the flavor of the dish.

Tonight we are making pork burgers with grilled anaheim chili peppers . . . it is a recipe I got years ago out of a Food & Wine magazine and they are to die for. Homemade french fries and zucchini will accompany, and I will definitely share these recipes soon!

Happy Sunday!