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While Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday of the year, there is one thing I look forward to even more than our family feast: the day-after turkey soup. Whether I was the one cooking or was sent home with a generous pile of meat, a hearty pot of turkey and vegetable soup has been my tradition for nearly all of my adult life. It's the sort of light (yet still comforting) fare that's always nice to tuck into the day after a big meal.

As all post-Thanksgiving meals should be, this one comes together with little time and effort. The most this soup will ask of you is chopping vegetables and dicing or shredding the leftover turkey. Want to make it even easier? If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner, add a few more onions, carrots, and celery to the pile for dicing while you're prepping for other dishes. It only takes a few minutes and it will save you from doing the same again in a couple of days. Store the diced veggies in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator until you're ready to simmer your soup.