I bought a 10 lb. turkey right after Thanksgiving for $0.48/lb.
What does a family of three get out of a turkey?
I had considered cutting it up and just using it as I would diced chicken, but I’m actually pretty fond of roast turkey, so I actually did just go ahead and roast the whole bird. It’s easy, doesn’t take long and my whole family is fond of roast poultry. I have a family of three – two adults and a teenaged boy. Let’s keep count of how many meals I got from Tom.
We had roast turkey one day. One meal for all of us. I cut up some of the roast meat to use in bentos the next day. That brings it up to two meals.
Then I used my Great Big Crock Pot to make enough Turkey Curry for three dinners family dinners and lunch one day for everyone in the family. That brings the count up to six meals.
Today, I put all the leftover meat and the bones in the Great Big Crock Pot again to make stock. Tonight we’re having Turkey and rice soup with enough left over for two more meals. That brings it up to nine meals. But there was still enough meat left over to freeze to use in a casserole, Turkey Pot Pie or some other meals. That brings it up to ten meals and I still have two quarts of turkey stock left over to use in soups, or whatever I feel like using stock for.
Not bad for one bird.
Here’s some of the recipes, just substituting turkey for chicken.
Chicken Pot Pie
This is an insanely easy dish. It also freezes well, as long as you make sure to drain the veggies very well.
| For pie crust: 2 c. flour 1/3 c. shortening or butter 1 t salt 1/4 c. cold and I mean icy water |
3 c. shredded chicken, cooked. (I often make this on a day I make chicken stock with a whole chicken, I go ahead and use the chicken. Great flavor) 2 1/2 c. mixed veggies (I admit to using 2 15 oz. cans of Veg-all. Make sure to drain it.) 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. |
| To make the Pie Crust:
Combine salt and flour. Cut in butter or shortning until fine. Add cold water slowly until a stiff dough is formed. divide dough in half. Roll each half in a 12″ circle. Use one circle to cover the bottom of deep 9″ pie plate. Do not trim edges. For Filling: Combine chicken, veggies and cream of mushroom soup. (Gosh, that was hard, wasn’t it?). Dump it all in the pie dish, cover the mess with the remaining circle of pie crust dough, fold the edged together and pinch together around the edges. This is a chance to make it look pretty, if you want. Cut a vent for steam to escape in the top of the pie. (I usually use a fork to poke the words I and You in it and cut a heart out in the center –nauseating, ain’t I?). Cook for about 1/2 hour at 425 o or until a nice light brown. |
|
Chicken Curry
This is actually a perfect crock pot meal, for anyone who uses that most wonderful of kitchen implements. You have to have either a blender or a food processor for this recipe.
I’ve been experimenting, and this is what I’ve come up with. I expect I’ll perfect it as time goes on. This recipe makes a LOT. It’s good for company or if you like to have leftovers. If you don’t have a 6 qt crock pot, you should cut this recipe in half. This freezes great.
| 2 lbs (about 4 cups) chicken breasts, cut into small pieces 4 large potatoes, diced 4 c. milk 2 c. plain yogurt 3/4 c. raisins , ground 3/4 c. cashews, ground 2 large peaches or one large mango 1 15 oz can coconut milk |
Olive oil for sautéing 2 large onions 5 large cloves garlic 6 T sliced fresh ginger 8 T curry powder 8 T. spring water |
| Whisk together coconut milk, milk and yogurt, and pour into a crock pot set on low. Add diced chicken and diced potatoes, stirring it in.
Grind together the raisins and the fruit, and add to the yogurt, chicken mixture. Wash out your food processor, then grind together your onions, garlic and ginger. Sauté until the mixture gets slightly darker. Then mix water and curry powder (if you really like HOT indian food, add some red pepper. But be careful. It can sneak up on you). Add to mixture in sauté pan and simmer for awhile. The instructions on how to make curry that I ran across said to simmer “until it starts to smell really good”. It sounds non-specific, but believe me, this is accurate. Your nose will know, ’cause you’ll take in a deep breath and say to yourself, “DAMN, that smells GOOD.” When you get to that point, add the mixture to the stuff cooking in the crock pot. If you’re cooking it on low, it needs to cook for about five hours (but can go longer). On high, you need to cook it at least three hours. Serve over rice. |
|

