Devonly: Turkey Turkey, Soup Soup

Confession: I don't really like Thanksgiving dinner. But somehow I keep making it every year. I guess some traditions are like that: you don't question what they are, you just keep doing it because you've always done it that way. So, I keep making the traditional dishes (and lots of it!!) every year and am stuck with a fridge full of left-overs I don't really want to eat anyways, and then I just wait until they have probably been in there too long to still be considered safe to eat and I can justify throwing away the pounds of food - probably enough to feed a starving village somewhere...ones with lots of flies everywhere.

But this year, I am determined to eat what I can stomach and make it into something I will actually like. And this winter has been the winter of soups for me - I've probably made one a week at least since the first scarf came out of the closet to warm my chilly neck. This soup is easy to prepare, and you will most likely have all the ingredients sitting around in your fridge anyways. And, dare I might say, your house just might smell even better than it did on Thanksgiving. You can also add any other veggies you have on hand (mushrooms, leek, etc.), these are just the ones I used.

You will need:

1 TB olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (I even used green onions)
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup rice
2 cups turkey - pulled apart or chopped
6-10 cups water
4 stems kale, pulled from the stalk and chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over med-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrot. Stir occasionally until the veggies start to get soft, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for about one minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the rice and stir for one minute. Add in the turkey and enough water to cover the ingredients by about 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2. Stir in the kale and herbs, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. You can add more water at this point too if it's too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.