Low-carb turkey with vegetable soup

I love soup all year round but especially during the colder months. The problem is I can never find any at a restaurant or at the market that is suitable for someone, like myself, who needs to follow a low-carb diet and has multiple food allergies (dairy, gluten, corn, eggs).

That's where the old soup pot comes in handy. I can cook up my own "safe-for-me" soup and enjoy it to my heart's content. Recently, I made use of the leftover turkey carcass from Thanksgiving to make a low-carb turkey-vegetable soup. I confess I had never used the carcass before but decided to give it a go after one of my Thanksgiving dinner guests suggested it. There is a considerable amount of time involved with this recipe if you use a turkey carcass but it also can be made with leftover chicken and purchased chicken broth.

Low-Carb Turkey with Vegetable Soup

Step 1: Make the broth

1. Put the leftover bones and skin from either a turkey or chicken into a large stock pot. Cover with cold water by an inch. Add a quartered onion, chopped celery and tops, chopped carrot, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to bring the stock to a simmer. Add salt and pepper.
3. Cook for about four hours, uncovered so the stock reduces. Remove the bones and skin. Strain the broth if desired.

Step 2: Make the soup

1. Add chopped veggies of your choice. I added the sturdier veggies (celery, onions, rutabagas and carrots) first. Skip adding grains or noodles if you want this to be low carb.
2. Cook and simmer until the veggies are tender (approximately 30-45 minutes).
3. In the final 10-15 minutes of cooking, add green beans. I also could have added greens, such as spinach, chard or kale, at this time.
4. Serve with a salad.