It all began with a package of ground turkey. At first, I thought to make a favorite dish that uses ground turkey, chopped celery, and mushroom soup, and is topped with dumplings (I usually serve vegetables such as potatoes or green beans on the side). But, there wasn’t any mushroom soup in the cupboard. So then I looked in my cookbook for a recipe on cream of celery soup (since I had a fresh bunch of celery), or potato soup. I found recipes for cream of celery soup, and Vichyssoise, a creamy potato soup. This is what I ended up putting together, although it was more of a stew than a soup.

Creamy Turkey Potato Soup

20 oz lean ground turkey
2 tsp. butter (can reduce)
1/2 medium-large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups water (approx) or broth
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
1 Tbsp flour (omit if using gravy)
1 cup milk (or more)
1 – 8oz can french cut green beans, undrained (or corn)

Brown turkey in large pot with onion and celery. Add butter. Toss in potatoes and barely cover with water. Add seasoning to your taste. Put lid on and simmer until potatoes are soft. Mash mixture with potato masher (or not). Taste, and adjust seasoning if desired. If using flour, shake together with milk in gravy shaker before adding. Stir into soup, add undrained can of green beans, and bring to a simmer. Serve hot with buttered whole wheat bread, rolls, or fresh biscuits.

I’m not quite sure this turned out quite like I imagined it would, though it tasted good – pretty much like mashed potatoes, meat and gravy meal with vegetables all stirred together – just a little bit runnier. Maybe next time I won’t mash the potatoes and see how that changes things.

I’m thinking this recipe could be easily adapted to use up leftovers from a chicken or turkey dinner. Substitute cut-up leftover chicken or turkey, leftover boiled or mashed potatoes, add a little gravy, and maybe that last little bit of stuffing, too. Adjust seasoning and liquid as necessary.