Roasted Turkey Soup

Last nights dinner was just something I threw together. I had some boneless skinless chicken breast that I sliced up. I infused some olive oil with garlic then cooked the chicken until mostly done; removed from the pan. I then added sliced mushrooms and onions and sauteed until the mushrooms just began to release their juices and at that time I returned the chicken to the pan. Added a bit of salt and pepper, and some chicken broth and let that reduce until it was almost gone. I had some fettucini left over from the other night that I heated up and then put some pesto in that. The best part was the artichokes. I love artichokes. I boiled 2 of them until tender. I found a website dedicated just to artichokes and saw some recipes for dip. I usually use melted garlic butter and / or some mayonnaise (separate bowls). One of the dips on this site was for pesto mayo. I had never thought about having pesto with my artichokes. It was really good and a nice change. I did put the plain mayo out as well as some melted butter for everyone else incase they didn't care for the pesto blend. Of course my husband wouldn't even TRY the new dip. Whaaaaaaaatever. His loss.

I'm not feeling motivated today. I think stress does that to you. I have some Turkey Soup that I made a while back in the freezer that I plan on defrosting for tonight's meal. Turkey Soup is really easy but can be time consuming. After you eat a turkey, save all the bones and boil them in seasoned water. I just dump whatever seasonings sound / smell good at the time...salt, pepper, garlic (of course) cumin, coriander, parsley, onions...etc. Once that has cooked for a few hours, let it cool then strain all the stuff. Set it in the refrigerator over night so that you can remove the fat. From what I hear, leaving the fat in will dilute the flavor of the broth. For me, a good soup is all about the broth. What's the point if it tastes like water??? What you end up with is a very rich, gel like broth.  The next day, heat up your broth and let it cook down a bit before you add all your veggies and maybe a handful of barley. After the veggies have cooked, add some chopped up leftover Turkey....voila! A very tasty, hearty soup. Now, if you want to add even more flavor to the soup, (and this is what I usually do) then you need to roast the carcass before you boil it. The aroma alone reminds one of Thanksgiving all over again. Imagine this with a warm rustic loaf of home made bread! My mouth is watering. I wish I had thought of this last night so I could have that loaf of bread ready. Damn. Well then, it will just have to be some Italian bread I have stashed in the freezer. :)