turkey and more turkey

Last weekend Ryan and I hit the poultry jackpot, a 20# turkey at 99 cents/pound.  Thanksgiving may be less than 2 months away, but that price was too good to pass up.  Food sales and "buy one/get one" deals can be a great way to eat for cheap.  Figuring we had 30-50% waste, we still only spent $1.42 to $2.00 per pound of edible portion. There are approximately 32 4 oz servings for a 20# turkey, which means that one serving costs between 50 and 63 cents. Even with the trimmings, this is still a cheap meal.

After a mini turkey feast complete with mashed red potatoes, homemade gravy, steamed broccoli, and stuffing from a box we had approximately 5 Tupperware full of turkey.  Sorry, I did not make stock with the carcass or fry up the giblets.  The rest of the potatoes and stuffing along with a thigh were eaten over the next day or two.  Some turkey ended up on a giant salad for supper Tuesday night.  Now what to do with all those left overs.

On Wednesday I sauteed a diced onion and about 2 oz of chopped crimini mushroom in a little butter.  I mixed it with ricotta cheese and frozen spinach (thawed and drained).  I layered this with about a cup of diced turkey, 9 lasagna noodles, 1 jar of marinara sauce, and topped it off with about 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.  It was pretty good, and Ryan was very excited when he found out we were having lasagna for supper.

This morning I woke up and started making what I'm calling Wild Turkey Soup:
In a medium stock pot saute over medium high heat sautee in 2 Tbs canola oil: 2 small onions diced, 3 medium carrots and 2 parsnips cut into thin slices.  As the onions start to soften add 2 cloves of garlic finely minced or pushed through a press.  Also add 0.25 oz of diced dried porcini mushrooms, a large dash of black pepper and thyme.  Continue to cook until the carrots just start to soften.  Pour in 32oz of low sodium chicken broth/stock.  Bring to a boil.  Add 2 cups roughly chopped leftover turkey, 3-4 cups of warm water, and 1 bay leaf.  Decrease the temperature and  back to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Just before serving stir in 1tsp of apple cider vinegar.  Ladle soup over cooked wild rice or other favorite whole grain.
-The porcini mushrooms will add a rich flavor and depth to the soup.  They may need to be reconstituted in warm water to make mincing them easier.
-Do not cook rice into the soup unless you plan on eating all of it at that time.  Otherwise the rice will turn to mush when you reheat it later.

Why eat turkey?  As long as you are not eating highly processed turkey products, and avoiding the crispy skin, Turkey is a great source of lean protein.  A 4 oz portion supplies 65% of your DV for protein.

1 oz of dark meat contains: 56kcals, 2g fat, and 8g protein

1 oz of light meat contains: 44 kcals, 1g fat, and 8g protein

Along with tryptophan the amino acid attributed to bringing on post turkey feast sleepiness, turkey is an excellent source of Selenium.  Selenium is a mineral which has strong antioxidant properties and plays an important role in keeping the immune system strong and the thyroid functioning properly.  While selenium deficiency is rarely seen in the united states it is still prominent in rural China where soil concentrations of selenium are very poor.  Studies show that low selenium levels may increase a person's chances of developing certain types of cancers and make them more susceptible to disease.

We still have about 4 tupperware full of turkey in the freezer.