Homemade turkey noodle soup

Turkey and chicken noodle soup are huge favorites in our house. I make this all the time in the winter on chilly days. I love the way our house smells. Yummy. 

Turkey stock:

-Turkey backs (<$2)

-1 peeled and chopped onion (~$3/bag of 6 or $0.50)

-4 unpeeled and chopped carrots (~$3/bag of 20 or $0.60)

-4 ribs of celery chopped (~$2.50/bag of 20 organic celery ribs or $0.50)

-broccoli stalks chopped ($2 for broccoli, I normally throw the stalks out so $0)

-4 small parsnips unpeeled and chopped ($4/bag of 25 or $0.65)

-2 bay leaves ($1/ bag of 20, so pennies)

-salt and white pepper

-parsley and thyme from the garden

-7-8 cups of water

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Total: ~$4.25

Instructions for stock:

Put everything in the crockpot on low overnight. 

Prep time: Less than 15 min with toddler interruptions 

For soup:

-keep meat from the turkey

-strain stock and discard veggies and herbs

-you will end up with about 7 cups of stock

Add:

-1/2 chopped onion (~$0.25)

-2 peeled and chopped carrots (~$0.25)

-2 celery stocks chopped (~$0.25)

-1/4 cup small pasta ($2/bag of 2 cups or $0.25)

-additional seasoning

Instructions:

-add all ingredients back to the crockpot (except pasta)

-cook on high for 2 hours or until veggies are soft

-add pasta and cook ~15-30 min

Prep time: 10 min

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Total for soup: <$6

Notes:

I buy turkey or chicken backs at my grocery store. You can easily use the scraps from Thanksgiving or a roast chicken too. Or even bone in poultry. 

If you are going to freeze, don't add noodles. 

Top left: stock cooking

Top right: stock strained

Bottom left: turkey

Bottom right: yummy soup