Turkey Tamale Soup

Are you like me? Do you purposely buy an enormous turkey just so you can have leftovers?  I'm so crazy, I buy two turkeys around Thanksgiving because they are so outrageously low, cheaper than roaster chickens per lb! 

If you are like me, you probably have leftover turkey hiding in your freezer.  We just cooked up our second turkey from November last week, so I've got a lot of leftover turkey to work with.  This turkey is slated to be used in some of our favorite turkey recipes like: Turkey Cranchiladas, Crumble Pot Pie, and Mega Burritos.

When I first started this blog I discovered websites like Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Tasteology, and finally Pinterest.  I became aware of just how many recipes were out there that I wanted to try.  Consequently, as there were so many recipes on my "to cook" list, I rarely made the same thing twice.  Then I came to the realization that some of the meals I made were so darn tasty that they were worth making again.  Sometimes I struggle to find a happy medium, preparing old favorites and experimenting with new dishes. 

That being said, I such an over abundance of turkey leftovers that I can make a lot of our old favorites, and try some new dishes too.  One of the recipes I tested out for the first time with this round of Turkey leftovers was Cheesy Turkey Tamale Soup from The Cozy Apron.

The name is not misleading!  It really does taste like tamales in soup form.

I added some of the corn after the soup was pureed, and used 3 cups of turkey.  This made the soup very thick and hearty.  It was perfect for these cold snowy March days we've been having lately.  (Hey Mother Nature, what's the deal?  Why wait until March to get all wintery?  We're all sick of the cold and snow now so let's get a move on with the spring-like weather!)

The family consensus was that this soup tasted best with shredded jalapeno cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips.  Of course Mrblocko added lots of hot sauce to his as he is crazy about spicy foods.  Or maybe he's just plain crazy. You decide.

Cheesy Turkey Tamale Soup from The Cozy Apron
2 T olive oil
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (1lb.) bag frozen, sweet corn, thawed
½ t cumin
½ t oregano
¼ t pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 T tomato paste
¼ c fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
4 ½ c chicken/turkey stock, hot
1 c broken-up, corn tortilla chips, plus more chips for garnish
1  c shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1 T honey (I used 1 T sugar as our honey has solidified from sitting in the cold pantry all winter and I didn't feel like attempting to liquify it)
2-3  c  left-over roasted turkey, chopped/cubed/shredded, for topping soup

Place the ingredients through red pepper flakes in lg pot over med heat.  Stir to combine, add tomato paste, cilantro, stock and chips.  stir. boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer soup for 20-22 min, til veggies tender and chips dissolved. Remove from heat and blend in batches with a blender.  (Don't fill your blender too much or hot liquid will explode on you!  Even better, be super cool and use a stick immersion blender.)  add cheese, turkey and honey. Garnish with cilantro, cheese and chips!