Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Creamy yet healthy, this turkey wild rice soup transforms leftovers into a dreamy hot bowl of comfort and deliciousness.

I came home from Christmas with some special treasures … you might think I mean Christmas presents, but no, those weren’t my biggest treasures … although I had my fair share of lovely presents this year and I do sincerely appreciate every one of them … my treasures from Christmas this year were a big hunk of leftover roasted turkey, a large container of leftover wild rice, and some leftover stuffing. I love having new ingredients to play with!

The only problem is, I don’t eat all that much every day, so it was hard to use it all up before it went bad. The first thing I made was this Turkey Wild Rice Soup. It’s a bowl full of veggies, leftover turkey and real wild rice and it’s lovely.

Perhaps you’re asking: what is “real” wild rice, anyway?

There is farm raised “wild” rice … and there is REAL wild rice. Real wild rice grows wild in the lakes of Minnesota and a few neighboring states … a special permit is often required to harvest it. Real wild rice has a distinct taste and soft, yet slightly chewy texture. It’s been a tradition on our holiday tables for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love it. This year, after dinner, I had filled a small container of leftover wild rice to take home … and then my sister came up to me and told me that there was plenty more in the pot that we hadn’t even dished up for our Christmas dinner … and yes, she said, I could take it ALL. Oh that sounded marvelous! I dreamed of all the wonderful things I would make …

I had the best of intentions … but I only ended up making this one delightful soup with that precious wild rice before I ran out of time … I had other things planned for the rest of the wild rice, but didn’t get them done before the rest of the precious rice went bad. Sigh. I hate to waste it! Still, the soup alone brings me joy. If you don’t have real wild rice or leftover turkey on hand, feel free to substitute whatever wild rice you do have and (if you need) substitute leftover chicken for the turkey. I have (in the past) added a bit of potato to this soup, which would, yes, add to the satisfaction factor of this soup.

To make the soup last longer: while the soup is still very hot, scoop the soup into clean mason jars up to 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp towel, then top with clean lids and screw the top on. Put in the fridge. You might hear popping sounds as it seals. Store in the fridge until you are ready to eat your soup … you’ll have to use a knife to release the seal, but it will keep for weeks!

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: About 2 quarts of soup 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2– 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled & chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 cup flour (for gluten free soup, use tapioca flour)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped leftover cooked turkey (or chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked leftover wild rice
• 1 1/2 cups fat free half & half (or regular half & half)
• A sprig or two of fresh thyme leaves
• To taste: Red Robin Seasoning (or your favorite seasoning mix), salt & freshly ground pepper, Italian seasoning, chipotle powder

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Instructions

1. Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion and celery and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the carrots and cook a few minutes longer, then stir in the flour to coat the veggies.
2. Add the chicken broth and bay leaf. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, until the mixture is thickened. Add the cream cheese in small chunks, stirring until it is fully melted and the broth is creamy.
3. Stir in the turkey, wild rice, and half and half, then add the thyme and other seasonings to taste. Cook until hot, then remove the bay leaf.
4. Serve hot, garnished with fresh thyme leaves.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2016, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friends Friday, Gluten Free Friday and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.