1. Place the turkey carcass in a large slow cooker (~7-quart capacity). If the carcass is too large for your slow cooker, break it up and freeze half for a future broth. Cover with filtered water, add the onion halves, the whole carrot, the stalks of celery, vinegar, salt, peppercorns, and parsley (if using). Cover and cook on low overnight (8 hours).
2. Strain and reserve the broth, and any excess turkey meat from the bones, if desired.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté, stirring every couple of minutes, until the onion is translucent and vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes, until fragrant. Stir in the dried seasonings.
4. Carefully add the broth (you should have about 8 cups) and increase the heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. If you add any optional vegetables, add them during the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
5. Add the turkey meat and the noodles and cook noodles until al dente, according to package directions (8-10 minutes). Taste and season the soup with additional salt and pepper if needed. Ladle hot soup into bowls and serve immediately. Note: If you don’t plan to eat the entire soup right away, see step 6.
6. Cooking noodles until al dente will help for better storage, but they may get a bit mushy as they absorb a lot of broth when rewarmed. To avoid this, you can cook the noodles separately in water or broth and add just prior to serving. Leftover soup and noodles may be stored separately in the refrigerator for up to five days. Keeping the noodles separate works well if you choose to freeze the soup, too. You can freeze the broth on its own or the soup (without added noodles) for up to six months. 

Filling Ingredients

Savory filling: Natural Grocers Brand Organic Cheese Shreds, sliced ham, organic baby spinach, chopped organic herbs, and sriracha sauce or hot sauce of your choice

Sweet filling: organic fruit, organic whipped cream, or organic cream cheese; try our Strawberries and Cream Crepe filling with organic chocolate melted and drizzled on top

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, salt, and half of the milk in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine.
2. Whisk in the egg and remaining milk, combine well, and place the batter in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to overnight.
3. When ready to prepare, melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over low heat, then pour the melted butter into the batter, whisking well. The batter should be very thin—if it’s too thick, add extra milk a little at a time until consistency is pourable. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove the excess butter.
4. Increase the temperature of the skillet to medium to medium-high. You may need to lower the temperature as you cook each crêpe to prevent the skillet from getting too hot and cooking too quickly.
5. Whisking the batter before each crêpe, pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the skillet, then lift the skillet and swirl to make a thin 12-inch crêpe. Allow to cook until the edges are dry, then, using a thin spatula, gently lift and flip it. Cook for about 1 minute more (you should see some steam rising from the crepe as it cooks). Once cooked, lay on a wire rack to cool while you make the rest of the crêpes.
6. Continue making crêpes until batter is gone. At this point the crêpes can be used immediately or cooled and separated with parchment paper and refrigerated for up to four days, or frozen for up to three months.  
7. For savory crêpes, fill each crêpe with grated cheese, sliced ham, baby spinach, and fresh chopped organic herbs or other fillings of choice. Roll or fold in half and place in a warm oven until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with optional hot sauce.
8. For sweet crêpes, fill with your choice of cream cheese, fresh fruit, and whipped cream or try our recipe for Strawberries and Cream filling and drizzle a little melted chocolate on top just before serving.