Smoked Turkey Vegetable Soup with Orzo Pasta

After enjoying a feast of smoked spatchcock turkey with all the trimmings, grazing on leftovers, relishing the delicious smoked turkey tetrazzini casserole, vacuum sealing/freezing a smoked turkey breast for future use, there is but one other meal of leftover turkey to relish - The traditional turkey noodle soup! But this time I chose to put a different twist on the soup ... Sometimes known as my 'kitchen sink' soup, this is my 'Smoked Turkey Vegetable Soup with Orzo Pasta'.

When I spatchcocked a 14 lb turkey which I smoked, I set aside the backbone and neck to boil with the carcass for the soup stock. Added everything I could find in the refrigerator and pantry to the stock for the soup - celery, onion, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, peas, diced red potatoes, 14 oz can of diced stewed tomatoes, diced smoked turkey dark meat, garlic, black pepper, and chicken bouillon. Brought everything to a boil before turning the soup down to a medium simmer until all the vegetables are Al Dante. In the last 10 minutes, I added a half cup of orzo pasta. The best thing about orzo pasta is that it doesn't add a starchy taste to the soup.