I feel frugal, oh so frugal ...
There's something inherently good about "found" food. That is, something that is normally thrown out, something that most everyone else throws out, or something you don't often have. I, my friends, have a turkey carcass. And that makes me a rich woman. Or a Martha Stewart wannabee. I'm not sure which :)
We recently celebrated Thanksgiving in the U.S., which to some people (including my Polish SIL's mother) just means "turkey". Trust me on this: it means a lot more than that, but for now; it means I get the turkey carcass.
So today, Tom (what was left of him) went into my biggest stockpot with some veggies, some spices and a whole lotta water. And he spent the majority of the day making my house smell gooooood. I mean GOOD! The best part? I used 5 cups of liquidy goodness to "beef" up (see what I did there?) a dried soup mix given to me long ago, and we had a yummy creamy chicken-n-wild rice soup that just hit the spot with 10-12 inches of snow outside (thanks again for your yummy magic cumin trick, thescrappycat!). In addition, I now have ziploc bags of homemade stock in the amounts of 4 cups, 6 cups and 8 cups in my freezer. And one day soon, I'll make some more lentil soup, or chicken noodle, or my famous Super Bowl soup, or I'll try the Cream of Asparagus recipe that luvmeowers posted, and the base of these will be fresh, home-made turkey stock from my own kitchen, and it won't have that funky smell that those cartons of chicken stock have (not that there's anything wrong with that)!
My father-in-law grew up on a farm in Nebraska, and he always seems very happy that I want to take the carcass home with me. I think it pleases his thrifty inner farmer :) In fact, now that I think about it, he just automatically bagged it up for me this year -- how happy that makes me!
There's something about a wintry night, a full larder (as it were), and a full belly of warm soup. I'm feeling positively Currier & Ives!
Blessings from my snowy house to yours, and may you all have full bellies and warm toes.
We recently celebrated Thanksgiving in the U.S., which to some people (including my Polish SIL's mother) just means "turkey". Trust me on this: it means a lot more than that, but for now; it means I get the turkey carcass.
So today, Tom (what was left of him) went into my biggest stockpot with some veggies, some spices and a whole lotta water. And he spent the majority of the day making my house smell gooooood. I mean GOOD! The best part? I used 5 cups of liquidy goodness to "beef" up (see what I did there?) a dried soup mix given to me long ago, and we had a yummy creamy chicken-n-wild rice soup that just hit the spot with 10-12 inches of snow outside (thanks again for your yummy magic cumin trick, thescrappycat!). In addition, I now have ziploc bags of homemade stock in the amounts of 4 cups, 6 cups and 8 cups in my freezer. And one day soon, I'll make some more lentil soup, or chicken noodle, or my famous Super Bowl soup, or I'll try the Cream of Asparagus recipe that luvmeowers posted, and the base of these will be fresh, home-made turkey stock from my own kitchen, and it won't have that funky smell that those cartons of chicken stock have (not that there's anything wrong with that)!
My father-in-law grew up on a farm in Nebraska, and he always seems very happy that I want to take the carcass home with me. I think it pleases his thrifty inner farmer :) In fact, now that I think about it, he just automatically bagged it up for me this year -- how happy that makes me!
There's something about a wintry night, a full larder (as it were), and a full belly of warm soup. I'm feeling positively Currier & Ives!
Blessings from my snowy house to yours, and may you all have full bellies and warm toes.