I received several emails last week asking for additional money-saving tips on groceries so I thought I would share one of my favorite. At Thanksgiving, I purchased a turkey for 39 cents per pound. I did not host this year, but bought it anyway because I couldn’t pass up the price.
I thawed it out in January and roasted it for a nice Sunday lunch. It was an 11 pound bird. It was extremely tasty (the brand was Round Hill) and moist so the hubby and kids ate more than they normally do. After we’d all had our fill, I set about picking the meat off the bones. I ended up with 12 cups of shredded meat.
I set aside 6 cups of meat to make turkey enchiladas the next day (and boy, were they yummy). I then froze up the remaining meat in 2-cup portions because I have a delicious turkey and wild rice soup recipe that calls for 2 cups. So for $4.39, I had meat for Sunday dinner, 2 meals of enchiladas, and 3 meals of soup. That’s hard to beat, people.
Feeding your family meat for less than a dollar a meal is awesome, but to add to that, my neighbor let me in on a trick she does to get easy-peasy homemade broth. I cannot take credit for this. I am not very original, but I think I’ve mentioned before I’m a great copycat.
I took the bird remains, skin and all, and split it between my two crockpots (there were too many bones for one). I then took carrots peels, celery ends and leaves, and onion tops and bottoms from the freezer where I had put them for safe keeping. I added the scraps to the crockpots and covered the bones with water. I threw in a bay leaf and some salt and pepper for good measure. I let them cook all night.
The next day, I woke up to the tantalizing smell of roasting turkey bones…. I proceeded to strain the scraps and bones from the broth and let it cool. Then, I froze it in 1, 2, 3 and 5 cup portions. I ended up with approximately 14 cans worth (26 cups) of homemade chicken broth (amount of broth will vary depending on how many bones you have. It basically is how much water needed to cover ‘dem bones). With the amount of soup I’ve been making, this saves me from having to buy chicken broth by the case and puts money in my pocket. I was almost giddy – my mother-in-law can attest to this.
It worked out so well, I bought another turkey last week on sale for 49 cents per pound at Safeway and plan to do it again next week.
For an idea of how to accumulate scraps, try this meatball soup recipe. Our family devours it. The only change I make is to add more meatballs and omit peas (yuk!).
Photo and recipe here.
And to use your turkey, try this turkey with wild rice soup recipe. We don’t have much left over from this recipe, so don’t be afraid to double it if you have a large family. I sometimes add white beans to stretch it and the flavor and response is the same from the family. They gobble it up.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
adapted from Everyday Food magazine
Serves 4, prep time 25 minutes, total time 35 minutes
2 tbsp olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan)
4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped (I omit this and substitute about 1 tsp. onion powder to veil the onion when my husband is watching. He swears he doesn’t like onions and I swear he does if he doesn’t know they’re there. He doesn’t believe me. But that’s okay, because I don’t believe him either!)
course salt and ground pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz x 2) reduced-sodium chicken broth (when using my own, I just put in 3 cups and do the rest in water)
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or about 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken/turkey)
2/3 cup wild-rice blend (seasoning packet discarded [I cook mine separately])
Optional: 1 can northern or white beans
1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, chicken, rice, and 1.5 cups water to the pan. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cover. (If you don’t have enough liquid, add more water) Cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 6-8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred with two forks.
3. Meanwhile, continue to cook soup, uncovered until rice is tender, 6-8 minutes. Return chicken to pan; simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Bon Appetit!
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (6)
I would love to hear your recipe for Turkey Enchiladas. I’m always on the look out for a good one. Can you please either email it to me at eggy327@yahoo.com or post it. Thanks, Jennifer
I do the same with turkey’s. I ended up with 3 this year because I could not pass them up at Safeway when they were dirt cheap.
I make a pretty cheap cream cheese tater soup. Which ends up feeding us for 2 or more days, its filling and cheap and both work for our big family, add some crusty bread and butter, its goodness in a bowl.
I do want to copy your idea of saving the scraps, Ihad never thought of that, thank you for sharing.
I’m with Jennifer on this one, so cough it up already,lol. Seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing these tips with us. I have four children and am always looking for ways to save money on my grocery bill. Add to that, that I have a wonderfully big freezer, well, keep em’ coming and I plan on being a copycat from you.
We are keeping you all in our prayers. It really warmed my heart to see the pictures of Ainsley playing with Ryan. I know you cannot even express the joy of having him home and having things back to “normal”. We are joyous right along with you and thanking God for his goodness!
I had to comment because Zach is the same way about onions and garlic… lol, sometimes he will walk in the flat and say “what smells so good” and i am just sauteeing onions and garlic…lol
I do the broth thing, but not that much, because our freezer is so small 🙁 It is such a great way to get chicken broth and all i have here is boullian…so this is healthier! thanks for the recipes!
Ok, so my enchiladas are really basic.
I take 6 cups of shredded meat.
Add about a can of mild enchilada sauce and some green chilis (from a can and mix in to taste) and 2 cups or so of shredded cheddar cheese… mix that all together well.
Then coat the bottom of a 13×9 with enchilada sauce.
Heat tortillas in the microwave 3 at a time for 20-30 seconds (you want them pliable but not hard)
I put about 1/4 cup of mixture down the center.
Roll them like a burrito and plop side by side in the pan.
Spread enchilada sauce all over the top to cover the tortillas and then sprinkle on a little more cheese.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until hot through the center.
*You can totally mix up the meat mixture the day before. But I wait til the day of to wrap the enchiladas. They absorb the sauce and are a tad dry if done the night before.
** I use corn or flour tortillas – whatever I have on hand. My family likes both. I do find flour easier to work with.
Your timing is perfect! My turkey that has been in the freezer since Thanksgiving has been in the fridge thawing and will be going in the oven tomorrow. I’m looking forward to making some broth. Thanks, Connie