Turkey Frame Soup

After Thanksgiving, there are always tasty leftovers to be enjoyed, like turkey sandwiches or curry turkey. My favorite leftover is the turkey frame soup that Mom always made.

It's called turkey "frame" soup because it starts by boiling the entire frame of your Thanksgiving turkey in a big pot. (This year our turkey was bigger than our pot, so I had to get MDS to break the turkey's carcass in half.) By the time you're starting the soup you've already cut off the big pieces of meat for Thanksgiving dinner and set aside more meat for turkey sandwiches, but as Carl Weathers once said, there's still plenty of meat on that bone. So you'll end up with a very meaty soup.


There are many variations to this soup. In the recipe below, I have added a can of diced tomato that Mom does not use. When used in conjunction with oregano, it makes it more of an Italian soup. If you prefer, instead of oregano, you could use basil, majoram, or thyme. As for the vegetables, Mom usually used a frozen "soup mix," which is what I used. You could use any standard soup vegetables, fresh or frozen, such as celery, carrots, parsnips, onions, broccoli, or any other vegetable. This recipe makes a lot of soup, so I usually freeze some, because, just as you can get sick of turkey leftovers, you can get sick of turkey soup leftovers.

Turkey Frame Soup 

• 1 meaty turkey frame
• 2 cups chopped, cooked turkey
• 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3 cups soup vegetables
• 1 1/2 cup medium noodles

Break the turkey frame in half and place it is a large Dutch oven. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for about two hours. 

Remove the turkey frame. When the frame is cool enough to handle, cut the meat off the bones and coarsely chop. Add additional meat to equal about 2 cups, and set meat aside. Strain the broth through a sieve lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth; discard any solids.

Return the broth to the Dutch oven. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, bouillon, herb, pepper, and vegetables. Return to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in noodles and turkey. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes more or until noodles are done. Enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole

Can you have Thanksgiving dinner without green bean casserole? Some families do it, but in our family something would be missing from Thanksgiving if green bean casserole wasn't on the menu. Mom's recipe for this casserole is fairly standard. And, of course it is very easy to make. I could not find this recipe among Mom's written recipe, but she was able to rattle off the ingredients without even pausing. You could use fresh green beans, if you want. But this recipe was perfectly designed for canned green beans.

What truly makes this dish special is the french fried onions. Some get mixed into the casserole and some are left on top to get super crunchy. I know this recipe calls for 2 cups, but I actually used more than two cups when I made this recipe. This dish could be made anytime of year, but for whatever reason it has become a Thanksgiving classic, that, in my family is saved for that one time each year.

Green Bean Casserole

• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash of salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz.) canned green beans, drained
• 2 cups french fried onions

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl, mix together the soup, milk, salt, pepper, green beans and 1 cup french fried onions in a 1.5 quart casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes, until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the mixture. Then, top with the remaining french fried onions. Bake 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Pastitsio

My mother-in-law recently shared with me a favorite recipe: Pastitsio. Patti explained that they had first tried the dish at a church fair at a Greek Orthodox Church in Urbana, Illinois in the late 1960s. And, as it happens, the local newspaper published the recipe a week later. Lucky for us that Patti found that recipe and shared it.

Pastitsio is a baked pasta dish. As Patti explained, it is very easy to make, but the downside is that it uses every pan in the kitchen. To me, all that cleanup is worth it for this tasty meal.

This recipe is the standard Greek version of the dish. Other variations might use lamb or veal instead of beef, or, other spices, such as allspice. But, I stuck to Patti's recipe here. You cannot go wrong with this recipe, and do not skip the cinnamon or nutmeg. As Patti says, they make the recipe. Patti also suggested that the dish can be prepared in advanced, and even frozen, just to be defrosted and baked when you are ready to serve it.

Pastitsio 

Meat Filling:
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

 Cream sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 eggs

8 oz. elbow macaroni (about 2 cups raw), cooked according to package directions. Do not overcook. Drain and add 3 oz. grated Romano cheese.

For topping: 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

In a large skillet, brown beef with onion until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add salt, pepper, tomato sauce and cinnamon. Simmer until quite dry. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in flour. Stir in the milk gradually and heat to boiling. Add the seasonings. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Gradually add a bit of the hot cream sauce, then return eggs to to the remaining sauce in the pan, and stir thoroughly. Stir 1/4 of the cream sauce into the macaroni/cheese mixture.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8" square baking pan and spread half of the macaroni mixture into the bottom. Top with all of the meat sauce, then all of the remaining macaroni. Pour the remaining white sauce over all and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Serves 4 - 6. Enjoy!