Turkey Rice Soup

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving from the Ladybug house!

Turkey day is over in our house, and there is so much left over! What to do with all that food in the fridge?? I'm slowly gathering a collection of Turkey dishes to use up leftovers, but this is one of those family favourites. 

This is a classic after Turkey day meal, great for a rainy day, whether you're relaxing or busy doing those projects, entertaining casual style, have weekend guests you need to feed after a heavy holiday meal, sharing a home-made meal with someone else, or hanging out with the family.

I've been wanting to share this recipe for years, but I just haven't been able to sit down and write it out or take a picture, but we got it done this year.

Turkey Soup

1 onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

2 cups Shredded Turkey Meat

1 cup leftover gravy if you have it

8 cups Turkey Stock

2 Bay Leaves

1/4 tsp Poultry Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chicken Bullion (optional)

2 cups Rice

1 cup frozen peas

Dice onion, carrots and celery and cook in a large soup pot for a few minutes until soft and browned. Add turkey meat, gravy, and stock. Season with bay leaves, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste, depending on the flavour of your turkey, stock, and gravy, you may need to add chicken bullion or chicken stock/flavouring. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes. Taste your soup base and adjust seasonings if needed.

30 minutes before serving, add rice and simmer for 20 minutes, then add peas. Add additional stock to adjust to your desired consistency, the rice really makes it thick, so add more stock if needed.

Serve hot with fresh buns or bread for a tasty, comfort meal.

Don't forget to use those old canning jars to share the love it's an easy way to bring joy to others.

with gratitude,

~Adel~

Need More Turkey Recipes?

Turkey Tetrazzini

Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Turkey Soup Broth

Every time I make a turkey, I get excited about the thought of delicious broth to make soup with, why would I waste all that delicious flavour still in that mangled pile of meat and bones.

So I make broth.

It's pretty simple.

Turkey Soup Broth

In a large slow cooker

1 Turkey carcass (I had to squish mine in there)

2 carrots, whole

2 stalks of celery, whole

1 onion, quartered with skin on

2 bay leaves

4 peeled cloves of garlic

Cover with water and let cook on low for up to 8 hours.

This is actually the second round for these bones, earlier in the morning I boiled this same mixture on the stove in my huge dutch oven for an hour and got the first batch of delicious broth to make Turkey Soup with.

Strain the broth to get rid of bits of bones and meat and store in your favourite containers, I love old canning jars.

Now to make Turkey Soup!

~Adel~

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

This deliciously easy side is a staple for family gatherings! 

I can't tell you how many casserole dishes of these I've made in the past couple years, but I know I bring one to every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gathering, plus the many times I bring it to other family gatherings or other communal meals with friends. I've started making mine in the slow cooker so I can have them without heating the kitchen in the summer or a great way to make more room in the oven for busy holiday meals, but it works great in the oven too! 

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes (Slow Cooker or Oven)

1/2 cup Butter (melted)

1 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced or your favourite garlicky seasoning (like Johnny's from Costco...yum)

1 can cCondensed Mushroom Soup

1 cup Sour Cream (substitute Greek Yogurt for some or all)

250ml container of Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese

7 cups Frozen Hashbrowns (one of the smaller sized bags)

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Corn Flakes

Slow Cooker: I like to brown my onions before tossing them in the slow cooker, but it's not necessary, just adds more flavour to the dish. Combine the melted butter, diced onion, garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a saucepan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Add Hashbrowns to the slow coker and pour cheesy sauce over. Mix well and cook until potatoes are heated through, about 2-3 hours on high. Top with corn flakes before serving (you can put them under the broiler for a few minutes if you want the top to be golden brown.

Oven: Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook until slightly browned. Add garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a sauce pan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Mix with hashbrowns and pour into an oven safe dish. Top with corn flakes. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes until sauce starts bubbling and the top is golden brown.

This recipe freezes really well, perfect for a big cook/freezer meal and makes a great alternative to Mashed Potatoes!

~Adel~

20 Fall Slow Cooker/Freezer Meals

Life has been busy and different over here at the Ladybug House! 

Between juggling the demands of a new baby and navigating the change from full-time at home to full-time school for Lady and Bug, while still trying to keep the house running and managing several businesses, I need to get organized and plan meals. 

Here is my fall list of slow cooker freezer meals to make life a little easier!

Slow Cooker Beef Bulgogi (Korean Beef)

Chicken Provençale

Slow Cooker Pizza Bake

Comfort Beef Stew

Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma & Garlic Sauce

Slow Cooker Amtat Mongolian Beef

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Bacon Maple Dijon Chicken

Thai Peanut Chicken

Slow Cooker Herb & Garlic Chicken Stew

Easy Slow Cooker Roast Beef & Gravy

Mexitalian Chicken

Sweet & Sour Pork

Orange Chicken

Salsa Chicken Tacos

Easy Rootbeer Pulled Pork

Warming Chili

Butter Chicken

Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry

Moroccan Chicken Stew

Enjoy the beautiful fall colours! It's nice to be back sharing my kitchen with you!

~Adel~

Natural Cough Candies for Kids (Happy Throat Pops)

Cough, cough, cough. Sneeze, drip, drip, drip. Mommy, I have "BOOGERS"!

Ugg. I am tired of the non-stop cold that seems to circulate around my house in the winter, anyone else with me? It starts a few days after school begins and ends a few days after they finish. Kids and germs - yuck. 

I've scoured my local pharmacies many times late at night trying to find something I can give my kids, but there's almost nothing for kids under 6. Seriously, why is it so hard for a company to come up with a safe solution on a stick so our kids have something to soothe a sore throat?

Well nothing commercial seems to exist, so I decided to make my own (plus then I get to make them with ingredients I want my kids to have). 

Happy Throat Pops

4 bags Lemon & Ginger Tea

1 cup Hot Water

2 cups Honey* or Agave (you can also use sugar)

1 Lemon, Juice and grated peel

4 drops Lemon Essential Oils**
candy thermometer (or skills at using the candy test with cold water)
popsicle sticks
Popsicle molds

(*Do not give honey to children under 1 year of age. **Please make sure your essential oils are safe for ingestion, Click here for my recommendation.) 

Brew a strong cup of Lemon & Ginger tea using hot water and 4 tea bags. Let sit for about 15 minutes before beginning to make your pops. In a large pot, add tea, honey, and the juice/grated peel of 1 lemon. Stir until mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and bring mixture to 150C/300F or Hard Crack Stage (this takes a while as the water boils off). Let cool a bit until mixture starts to thicken and stir in 4 drops of Lemon Essential Oils. Pour into oiled (cooking spray works well) candy molds (or make your own with cornstarch or confectioners sugar) and insert sticks. Let cool until fully hardened then remove from molds.

Happy throats, Happy kids, Happy Mom.

It's nice to finally have a natural solution for the cold & flu season.

~Adel~

Creamy Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Looking for something to do with those Thanksgiving/Halloween Pumpkins?

 I'm a huge fan of Indian food and this lovely soup is a great way to use up pumpkins (or just buy the canned pumpkin if you don't have one handy). 

Creamy Pumpkin Coconut Soup

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

1 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Mango Powder*

1/4 tsp ground Coriander

3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth

2 cups Chunks of Fresh Pumpkin or canned Pumpkin Puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) 

1 cup Coconut Milk 

In a large saucepan, heat coconut oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion becomes soft and translucent and starts to brown. Add spices and cook until it starts to become fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add broth and pumpkin puree and bring to a boil (if you are adding fresh pumpkin chunks you can boil them until they are soft). Remove from heat and add coconut milk. Carefully blend hot soup using a hand blender or a stand blender. Serve with coconut milk and fresh cilantro if desired.

I think of Indian Autumn when I eat this soup and how wonderful it must be, but I really don't know what that's like because I've only been there in the absolute blistering heat of July! 

~Adel~

*Mango Powder can be hard to find if you don't have an indian market nearby. It can be omitted if you can't find it. I have also used Epicure's Mango Curry seasoning to make this.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Oooh, this is my 200th post! I can't believe I made it this far, I'm not normally someone to keep going with things, I hardly ever finish projects, but this has been so fun and so fulfilling for me. Thanks to all my readers for your support in the last 2 & 1/2 years.

It's fall, although you'd never know it  by the thermometer outside (22 C right now!), so I'm in full on autumnal mode. Time for my favourite Autumn soup, Butternut Squash.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed

1 large Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic

2 Tbsp Butter

2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Cream or Sour Cream

On a baking sheet, arrange butternut squash, onions and garlic in a single layer and coat with Olive Oil & salt. Roast in a 350 F oven for 10-20 minutes until soft and a little golden coloured.

In a saucepan, heat butter until melted. Add squash, onion, garlic and cinnamon. Cook for 2 minutes until vegetables are coated in cinnamon and butter. Add Chicken stock and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Bring down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to combine flavours.

Let cool for a few minutes then use a hand blender (carefully) or a standing blender to blend the ingredients. Top with cream or sour cream and extra brown sugar if desired.

Delicious, decadent, and easy. The perfect autumn soup.

~Adel~