not leaving well enough alone

[wombat_socho]

For the better part of the two decades that I lived in Minnesota, part of the post-Thanksgiving routine involved boiling down the carcass, separating the remaining meat from the bones, and making a batch of turkey & rice gruel. This being the first Thanksgiving that I've cooked a bird on this side of the Mississippi, I started to do the same thing this afternoon after becoming awake enough to function in the kitchen...but somewhere along the line the temptation to tinker with a perfectly simple and decent recipe became Too Strong, and I wound up clearing out the kitchen cabinet of a number of things that probably would have been better in other contexts, but it's too late now....

4 quarts turkey broth
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp pepper (approximate)
2 Maruchan Beef Ramen in a Cup
2 cans sliced carrots
1 can Del Monte Vegall substitute
2 small yellow onions
1 cup rice
1 cup barley

Be interesting to see how this turns out.

Have a little food for thought to go with your gruel, and remember - it's not just a bird, it's a National Tradition. Thank God and all his saints the Indians of New England knew nought of lutefisk.