Chef 101 uses up your Turkey and Ham today!

Could you possibly be like me and still have some pesky remains of turkey and ham hidden in the recess of your fridge?  I got a solution for that!  In an Internet search I found the recipe below and thoroughly enjoyed it with an awesome Fritz Pinot Noir (Review of that wine will run on 1/13/12 – next Friday.)  I made a few changes in italics, as usual, but not too many.  Cheers!

Vegetable Soup with ham and turkey

http://www.metro.ca/recette/334/vegetable-soup-with-ham-and-turkey.en.html

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. (30 mL) vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

3/4 cup (180 mL) diced cooked ham (I used a full cup from Honeybaked!)

4 carrots, chopped

1 zucchini, diced (Turned out to be nice and soft using the slow cooker)

4 cups (1 L) chicken broth

28 oz. (796 mL) can seasoned tomatoes

2/3 cup (160 mL) uncooked rice (I skipped this, skipped noodles too, hominy was enough to give us a “full starchy” feeling!)

1 1/2 cup (375 mL) whole kernel corn

2 cups (500 mL) diced cooked turkey

1 cup (250 mL) chopped green beans (Never get much flavor from green beans, so switched to hominy.)

Salt and pepper to taste (Ed added 1 tbl of Cajun spices.)

Grated cheddar* to taste (skipped)

Chopped fresh parsley to taste (we skipped this too)

Preparation

In a big pot, heat oil over medium heat; brown onion and garlic.

Add ham, carrots and zucchini.

Stir in broth, seasoned tomatoes and rice.

Bring to a boil; simmer 30 minutes uncovered.

Add corn, turkey and green beans; simmer 10 minutes. (This is where I put it all in a crock pot and let it simmer for 4 hours.)

Season.

Serve topped with grated cheddar and chopped fresh parsley. (As above, we skipped this too – forgot about it!)