Turkey Dumplings ~ Wheat and Gluten Free

One thing I adore about Thanksgiving is the leftovers.  Turkey sandwiches, turkey enchiladas, turkey stir-fry, turkey noodle soup, turkey pot pie, turkey a la king, no wait, not turkey a la king.  Unfortunately this year there were no leftovers.  You see, we had Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's new home in Garden Valley.  Being that there were 20 of us hungry mouths to feed, come Friday morning a turkey wing and a scoop of stuffing were not going to cut it!

So this past Sunday I decided to have our own Thanksgiving.  Why not?  We definitely have much to be thankful for this year and my empty fridge was moping for some tupperware-filled holiday delights!

And what a feast we had!  A 23lb turkey for a family of four most definitely leaves a LOT of leftovers!  So what do I do with all that turkey?  Why make Turkey Dumplings of course! 

As a child, my mom always made Dumplings with the leftover turkey, so naturally I crave this soup after Thanksgiving.  If I recall correctly she used Bisquick, but since I'm enjoying my wheat-free gluten-free trans-fat-free lifestyle, I decided to try using my trusty Pamela's mix.  To my delight it turned out great!  So I thought I'd share it with you.

Turkey Dumpling Soup

•  4 carrots sliced into thin rounds
• 1/2 a medium yellow onion cut into small chunks
• 3 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsbp thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• leftover turkey ~ about 2 cups or as much or as little as you like
• turkey broth ~ about 2 quarts  (see my notes below)
• 2 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix Wheat and Gluten Free
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup milk or water

1. Heat olive oil in large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots and garlic.  Season with spices.  Cook for a few minutes while onions and carrots get soft.
2. Pour broth into pot, bring to a boil and then turn down heat to a fast simmer.
3. In a separate bowl, pour in Pamela's Mix and cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Pour milk or water into flour mixture while stirring with a fork until mixture is a soft dough.
4. Drop small spoonfuls of dough into pot.  Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until dough is cooked through.  Stir and serve!





Turkey Dumplings



Now really I don't measure when I cook, so the quantities of the turkey, broth and spices are my best guesses.  Add more or less as you like.  Taste your food as you cook it and you'll know if you need to add more spice. 

So where did I get the turkey broth?  At Trader Joe's?  No!  I made it myself!  How you ask?  It is really quite easy and I know many of you already do this. 

After the turkey came out of the oven and cooled I removed all the meat.  Then I placed the carcass, yes the whole thing, in my biggest soup pot.  Covered it with water, brought the water to a boil and then simmered the carcass for about 8-12 hours, adding more water to keep the bones covered.  Let the broth cool, then strain, and you have the best turkey broth ever.  And trust me you can not get that at a store.  Unless you like preservatives, additives and a little MSG. 

So now we'll have Turkey Dumplings for a few meals and by the end of the week we will all hate turkey.  Luckily we can now look forward to that Christmas ham and all the yummy leftovers we can make with that!  Ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, ham and bean soup, ham and scallopped potatoes, ham and split pea soup . . . . . .



Liking that holiday pie but not the white flour crust?  Check out this Note on my Facebook page for a wheat-free gluten-free pie crust.  And yes, I made it with Pamela's.  I know I know.  I'll make my own flours soon, be patient.