To make an easy, flavorful turkey stock, place a turkey carcass in a large stockpot. Cover it with approximately 3 quarts of water, and add 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 chopped onion, 1 1/2 chopped carrots and 1 1/2 chopped stalks of celery. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low or low and simmer it for approximately one hour. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl, and strain the stock.
Discard the vegetables, and reserve the turkey meat. Return the pot to the stove, and melt 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Sauté 1 chopped onion, 1 1/2 chopped carrots and 1 1/2 chopped stalks of celery until the vegetables are tender. Pour the stock back into the pot along with 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer the soup for another 10 minutes before adding diced turkey meat, herbs such as fresh basil or parsley, and 2 cups of your choice of starch. Starch options include cooked potatoes, barley, pasta or rice.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at November 26, 2017 9:43 AM MST
LIke Sharrona I make a soup. Basically the same but I use all the left overs. With the left over mashed potatoes and stuffing I mix each with one egg. Let the mashed potatoes sit in the fridge for a few hours after mixing. Roll into little balls and then again with stuffing to make mashed potato stuffing balss. Then cook into the turkey soup. The egg holds them together like little dumplings.
It is. MAny friends and family ask how I do the potato filled stuffing balls. How I get them to hold form in the gravy broth. I've only told Answermug the simple but key trick.
I bought one of those Foodsaver vacuum bag machines at Walmart. It's wonderful. I divide my meat into one pound portions and vacuum pack them before freezing.
I call my recipe "Five Can Soup" - two cans of creme of something soup, usually one mushroom and one some veggie flavor, and three cans of whatever sounds good for the type of meat I have chosen. I have a new larger slow cooker now, so I add more food to get a full pot. Then I mix in a few packets of instant gravy, and if there is still too much liquid I add mashed potato flakes after it gets hot.
The meat takes some preparation. Hamburger gets fried and chopped into small bits. Chicken gets baked, diced, and chopped in a food processor. I buy spiral sliced ham at Christmas time, so it's already sliced, so I just cut it into bite sized pieces.
I have ramekins from Anchor Hocking. That means glass baking dishes, and they have stretchy rubber lids. So I put individual servings in these little bowls and put on the lids and they will keep for a very long time.
It sounds like work, but it sure beats driving around looking for a hamburger stand.
This post was edited by Not Sure at November 26, 2017 9:44 AM MST
Jane S 