Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup

Chicken could easily be used here to make this Chicken Noodle Soup, but this was my way of using up the meat and broth from our Christmas turkey.  Jeremy smoked our turkey this year, so my soup has a complex smoke flavor to it.  If you don't already have cooked chicken and broth on hand, the easiest and cheapest way to have homemade ingredients for this soup would be to boil a chicken in water for an hour, shred the meat, cool the broth and skim the fat off, then use. 

-2 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion, diced
-4 carrots, diced
-2 ribs celery, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp dried thyme
-2 bay leaves
-3 quarts stock
-1 bag whole wheat egg noodles
-1 bag frozen peas
-2 c cooked turkey, shredded or chopped
-salt and pepper to taste (I think I used about 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, but my broth wasn't already salted)
-(optional) fresh parsley for garnish

Heat oil in large stock pot, over medium heat.  Saute onion, carrots, and celery 5 minutes.  Add garlic, thyme, and bay, saute 1 additional minute.  Add stock, and bring to a boil.  Add noodles, and peas.  Simmer 6 minutes.  Stir in turkey, salt, and pepper, remove from heat.  Sprinkle with chopped, fresh parsley and serve.