There are so many great dishes that can be made with leftovers, when I think of copious amounts of leftovers, turkey and chicken seem to come to mind most often.
Cooking and storing the natural broth from your homemade chicken or turkey adds a lot of flavor to soups, sauces or gravy dishes. If this option is not available, you can still make some really good soups with the help of low or no-salt chicken broth or low-salt chicken bouillon cubes. In fact, I enjoy doing a combination of the two. If I don’t have enough leftover chicken broth for a soup I’ll apply what I have and in another pot bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil and add 1/2 piece of low salt broth along with the leftover chicken broth and maybe season with kosher salt or sea salt and add more seasonings, then mix both warm liquids together as a base for my soup.
Here are some seasoning suggestions to create your chicken/turkey soup base seasonings.
*Fresh or dried cilantro, parsley flakes
*fresh ginger
*Sliced fresh onions or scallions
*Grated fresh garlic
* 1/4 pound shrimp** Optional
Salt, lemon pepper or white pepper to taste
Cumin or crushed red pepper, to taste, if you like your soup spicy.
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
I will also add vegetables. If you’re in a hurry, you can add half a bag of fresh frozen mixed greens. For a fresh kick of flavor, you can add a handful of cleaned and dried spinach, kale, or celery leaves.
Remember, the chicken/turkey is already cooked, so you may want to add a pasta or rice first to enhance or appeal to your soup more to your liking.
My spouse enjoys spaghetti cut into quarters and added to his soups. You can vary this recipe with different ingredient options. ~ Try adding rice, potatoes, or beans to your soup, or any other type of noodle or pasta will work just fine! Making sure to add the raw portions first as a base along with the broth water. Then you can add your seasonings, vegetables and lastly the shrimp first, cook for 5 minutes on low then the pre-cooked chicken/turkey. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, set aside for 5 minutes, check for desired flavor/seasonings, and serve your soup with baguette slices, oyster crackers, or warm flatbread. This makes two to four servings, depending on the size of the soup bowls.
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