This Turkey Gemelli Soup is a family favorite and a great and flavorful way to use leftover turkey.

During the Thanksgiving sales, I like to pick up a cheap or free turkey, cook it, and put it in the freezer in one pound packages. Then I use the turkey in place of chicken in a lot of recipes.

I pulled out a pound of turkey last night, planning to make turkey white chili, but as I started cooking the onions and garlic and added the broth, I just kept thinking of a turkey soup recipe my mom used to make. So, with the onions and garlic simmering, I called my mom to ask if I could get the recipe. And the funny part is that she was making the same thing!

So, this is a very loose adaptation of my mom’s recipe, since I had already started with the wrong ingredients, and I didn’t have some of the ingredients in her recipe, including barley (which I also didn’t have time to wait for). So instead of turkey barley soup like my mom makes, I created the brand new Turkey Gemelli Soup.

Yield: 6

Turkey Gemelli Soup

Name: Turkey Gemelli Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil; 1 onion,, diced; 2-3 cloves garlic,, minced; 2 cans chicken broth, (14.5 oz each); 1 tsp basil; 2 tsp oregano; 4 stalks celery,, sliced; 4 carrots,, sliced; 2 cans diced or chopped stewed tomatoes, (14.5 oz each); 1 lb cooked turkey,, chopped; 2-3 cups water; 8 oz gemelli noodles,, or any other noodles

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion,, diced
2-3 cloves garlic,, minced
2 cans chicken broth, (14.5 oz each)
1 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
4 stalks celery,, sliced
4 carrots,, sliced
2 cans diced or chopped stewed tomatoes, (14.5 oz each)
1 lb cooked turkey,, chopped
2-3 cups water
8 oz gemelli noodles,, or any other noodles

Instructions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until onions are tender.
Add broth, basil, oregano, celery, carrots, tomatoes, turkey and water.
Bring to a boil.
Add noodles, and lower temperature to medium.
Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until noodles and vegetables are tender.