Soups On!

Last year I posted about the 7 day turkey forecast, and we had another one this week. Again, we ran into the "dulldrum" of having turkey almost every night, and I still have a bag in the refrigerator (to be used with a box of Hamburger Helper), but the best part about making a large turkey is the broth you can make afterwards! I keep all the bones and fat, add them to a stock pot and cover with water. Maybe throw in a few bouillon cubes and some salt, simmer for a few hours, then add celery (I use the end pieces I would usually throw out, with the leaves) and carrots and any other seasonings, keep simmering and eventually you have a wonderful broth! I then let cool, strain well to remove the bones, and stored over night in the refrigerator with a plastic wrap skimming the top of the broth. The fat settles to the top when cooling and attaches to the plastic wrap, removing some of the fat. I then measure out the broth into 2 cup portions and freeze until needed. I like the 2 cup portions because I can just pop a few into the crock pot for soup starter, or use it to cook rice in, and I don't have to measure it again. This time I yielded 30 cups of broth/soup base that will be used throughout the year. And the total cost was,you guessed it, $0. This was my husbands holiday turkey and I already had all the other ingredients on hand for the broth.