I may never eat turkey again.

I’ll back up.  Last week Banjo Man had a craving for turkey soup.  His appetite has diminished during radiation and his love of soup has drastically increased.

So I cooked a turkey last Sunday.  And then we had a mini-turkey dinner, which pleased my husband no end.  Until he cleaned his plate and asked when I was going to make the soup.

I stuffed the carcass, wings and thighs into a large crock pot, covered everything with cold water and simmered it overnight.  Early the next morning Banjo Man picked all the meat off of the bones, chopped onions and carrots and then as soon as I woke up proceeded to ask me–as I sipped my first mug of coffee–when I was going to make the soup.

“Can I get dressed first?”

“Well, all right,” was his reluctant reply.

The house reeked of turkey.  I lit a candle.  Then another.

I ended up not making the damn soup until after we returned from radiation, around 3:00.  And there was so much turkey I made two soups, one a creamy wild rice turkey soup in the 7-quart pot.  And a turkey orzo soup in the 3-quart pot.

That was Monday.  Banjo Man has refused to eat anything else but turkey soup all week.  He is so happy.

Here are the links to the recipes, though I didn’t follow them exactly.  I rarely do, admittedly.  But they served as inspiration and the soups turned out just fine.

Turkey Orzo Soup

Creamy Turkey Rice Soup (Crockpot or Stovetop)

If you have an extra turkey in your freezer and forty people to feed, go for it.