I am cooking a whole turkey this week. Thanksgiving was kind of bust. Which means I had a couple of turkeys left over. I am also looking at thinning out what I have in the freezer to make room, just in case my mother in law comes to live with us. I hope that doesn’t happen, but I can’t be for sure.

The reason I am not sure is because of what is happening right now in government. I have been working for state government for over 22 years. While state funding is not at risk, federal funding is. I am 100% federally funded. Right now we can’t get any answers on what’s going to happen right now. My job for the first time is hanging in the balance. I love my job. I don’t want to get a new one. However, that may be something I have to do.

Today’s recipe is a simple one. I am starting off with a recipe from Mexican Tin Eats for Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup. I am going to use my turkey frame instead of the chicken. I am also going to use a pressure cooker because my beans are old and the last time I used them, they didn’t soften. Even with baking soda. I am also going to soak them for longer too. We’ll see. I think this will be a fantastic recipe.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I swapped out the canned beans for dried to reduce the sodium and use what I have.
• I swapped out the tomato for pumpkin puree to increase the vitamin A and replace the tomato
• I swapped the chicken with a turkey frame with meat to use up the turkey.
• I deleted the chicken broth because I won’t need it because of the turkey bones.
• I replaced the canned corn with frozen to reduce the sodium.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Mexican Turkey Soup

Serves 8

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion , diced
• 2 red bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup of dry black beans, soaked overnight
• 28 ounces frozen corn
• 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
• 1 turkey frame from a roasted turkey
• 1 pound of meat from the turkey
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder 
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, adjust spiciness)
• 1 tsp each salt + black pepper

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a multicooker and sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic for 5 minutes until translucent.
• Add water, Spices, corn, beans and pumpkin. Give it a good stir, then add turkey frame and turkey meat and push down to submerge.
• Set the multicooker to high and 25 minutes. Allow for a natural release.
• Remove the bones and stir.
• Serve