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!)