I have to admit turkey is one of our favorite homemade soups, maybe because I only make it a couple of times a year. We really should roast a turkey more often so I can make soup!

Ingredients for a simple, basic soup:
1 turkey carcass
1 large onion, chopped
3 large carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
1 – 3 tablespoons Watkins chicken soup base
3/4 teaspoon Watkins pepper
water

Instructions: In a large kettle or stock pot place leftover turkey carcass and cover with water. On high heat bring water to a rapid boil. Lower heat, cover and allow to simmer for an hour or so. I like to let it simmer for a couple of hours.

Remove pot from the heat and allow stock and bones to cool enough to handle. Strain broth into large pot or bowl. Reserve strained broth. Be sure to save any pieces of turkey meat before emptying strainer. Remove any turkey meat that remains on the carcass, discard bones. Cut meat into bite size pieces.

Return reserved broth back to a kettle or pot. Add unions, carrots and celery stirring to mix all ingredients together well. Bring to a rapid boil Add black pepper, chicken soup base to taste and optional ingredients such as corn, barley and lentils if desired (see below). Bring back to a rapid boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Taste and add more soup base if needed. Add turkey meat bring to a boil and turn off heat. If adding frozen peas (see below) add them now.

When I make meat and broth based soup I generally add everything except the kitchen sink, so I end up with a thick soup that’s almost a stew, filled with lots of vegetable and grains. If you fancy this type of soup or want to add more nutrition here are some more ingredients to add.

Choose one or more of the following additional Ingredients for a heartier soup:

1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup small pasta or noodles
2 parsnips, diced
1 cup kernel corn, frozen or canned
1 cup green beans, frozen or canned
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup frozen peas (I like to add these at the very end)
1 -2 cups roasted turkey meat, diced
leftover turkey gravy

I generally add only one grain, rice or barley or the pasta, not all of them.

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground turkey
2 tsp Watkins poultry seasoning
1 tsp. Watkins black pepper
1/2 tsp. Watkins ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Watkins cayenne pepper
Watkins grapeseed oil

Directions: Place the turkey into a large mixing bowl. Add the poultry seasoning, pepper, ginger and cayenne pepper. Mix with your hands until completely incorporated together. Shape the mixture into 2 inch balls or patties about 1 inch thick. Place a tablespoon or so of grapeseed oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the meat balls till the pan is half full, brown the sausage balls on all sides by gently shaking the pan so they can roll around. Cook balls for 5 – 8 minutes or until cooked through. If making patties brown for about 5 minutes, turn the patties and continue cooking 5 minutes longer or until the meat is not longer pink.

Makes 16 -24 sausage balls or 8 patties.

Nutritional Information: (Approximate Value for 2 patties) 85 calories; 5 g fat; 1 g saturated fat; 45 mg cholesterol; 25 mg sodium; trace carbohydrates; trace fiber; 10 g protein

Using Watkins poultry seasoning and other spices makes it quick and easy for you to have perfectly spiced delicious sausages every time!

Ingredients:

1 7-8 lb organic grown turkey
1/4 cup/60 mL Original Grapeseed Oil
2 tbsp/30 mL Watkins Organic Garlic Powder
2 tsp/10 mL Watkins Organic Basil
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Organic Sage
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Organic Parsley
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Sea Salt
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Organic Black Pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F/190°. Rinse turkey inside and out, discard giblets and neck or set aside in refrigerator for another use and place turkey in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic powder, basil, parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Using a basting brush, liberally apply the mixture to turkey.

Roast turkey for 2 to 2 ½ hours, baste every hour with left over herb mixture or pan drippings. Cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160°F/71°C. Remove bird from oven and allow to stand for about 15- 30 minutes, to allow juices to distribute and internal temperature to rise.

Note: if you are cooking a larger bird allow approximately 20 minutes cooking time per pound of turkey.

You’ll find the very best organic herbs and spices in the Watkins US store or the Watkins Canadian store.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or Watkins grapeseed oil
2 cups water
1/2 cup Watkins roasted turkey gourmet gravy mix
3 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 large unpeeled tart apple, cored and cubed
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Watkins ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Watkins black pepper
1 (9 inch) pie crust

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Preheat a large saucepan over medium heat, add butter or oil and onion and sauté until translucent. Add water and whisk in the gravy mix, heat stirring frequently until it comes to a boil. Mix in turkey, apples, raisins, lemon juice and spices. Combine all ingredients together well and heat until just heated through. Pour into a large ungreased baking dish. Roll out pie crust on a floured surface. Place rolled pie crust over top of turkey mixture, tuck sides of pie crust down sides of dish or leave hanging over the edge. Cut slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Place in oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is brown.

Tips from the kitchen:

• You may use left over turkey gravy for this however if you are like me you probably won’t have any! Watkins roasted turkey gourmet gravy to the rescue, it tastes so good you’ll swear your grandmother made it!
• Brush your unbaked pie crust with a beaten egg yolk for a beautiful, shinny golden brown crust.

You’ll find just the right spices and ingredients to make this in the Watkins US catalog or the Watkins Canadian catalog.

Ingredients for the chestnut stuffing:
1/4 cup whole chestnuts or dried if you can’t find whole
1/4 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons Watkins grapseed oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon Watkins sage
1 teaspoon Watkins rosemary
1 teaspoon Watkins thyme
1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 cups stale bread, cubed
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon Watkins Chicken soup and gravy base

Ingredients for the turkey:
1 10 lb. turkey
Watkins grapeseed oil
Watkins sea salt
Watkins black pepper

Ingredients for the gravy:
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon Watkins Chicken soup and gravy base

Directions for the Stuffing: To roast the chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375 °F oven. Let cool for 10 minutes and then peel and chop. Do not turn oven off as it will need to be preheated for cooking the turkey.

In a large pot over low heat, heat the oil then add onions and celery. Sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft. Stir in crushed garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme and apple and sauté for a further 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in egg, then add chestnuts, raisins and bread. Toss mixture well. Stir in warm broth made with 1 cup boiling water and 1 teaspoon chicken soup and gravy base, season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Directions for preparing the turkey: About one hour before cooking, prepare your turkey. Remove any giblets and rise well (inside and out) with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Generously rub turkey with grapeseed oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Loosely stuff the neck cavity with chestnut stuffing, fold the skin under and secure in place with a toothpick. Then loosely stuff the main cavity, making sure to leave room for expansion and the air to flow through.

Then prepare your roasting pan. Add carrots, onion and celery to the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the rack over the vegetables. Now place your turkey, breast side up, on the rack. Put prepared turkey in oven.

Roast, uncovered, at 375 °F for the first 30 minutes, then baste and reduce oven temperature to 325 °F. Continue basting turkey every 25 to 30 minutes. The cooking time should be approximately 20 minutes per pound of turkey, which would be about 3.5 hours for a 10 lb turkey. To check if the turkey is cooked pierce the thigh bone, juices should run clear without any pink. Or use a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature should show 180 °F. Turkey should be golden and crispy on the outside too. Remove the turkey from roasting tray and reserve juices for gravy.

Directions for the Gravy: Mash the vegetables in the roasting tray, then push all ingredients through a sieve or use a hand blender. Discard any remaining vegetables or fat. Place the sieved liquid in a saucepan and simmer over low heat. If you don’t have enough liquid then add 1 cup or more (depending on how much gravy you need) boiling water and chicken soup and gravy base.

In a small bowl add 1/4 cup flour and mix with about 1/2 cup cold water until all lumps dissolve. Slowly add a little of this mixture to the saucepan, stirring well after each addition and allowing time for gravy to thicken. Keep adding flour/water mixture until gravy is desired thickness. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Tips:

• For extra added safety, remove the stuffing from turkey once turkey is cooked, serve right away and store left overs in a separate container in the fridge.
• Try adding a couple of tablespoons of red wine or Madeira to the gravy for a richer taste. The alcohol will evaporate during the cooking process so the children will be able to have the gravy.
• Allow roasted turkey to stand or rest for 15-20 minutes for best results. This allows the natural juices to redistribute throughout the meat so it doesn’t get too dry.

You find just the herbs and spices to cook your turkey in the Watkins US catalog or the Canadian catalog. Enjoy!