One bird=4 meals

Turkey with potatoes and stuffing
Turkey Soup with Herbed Dumplings
Lunch meat for 4 people for at least 2 days.

Not bad for a $6 turkey! I bought a 12 pound turkey after Thanksgiving. I knew that I could get at least two meals, not to mention several lunches, out of it. And since we didn't host Thanksgiving, we didn't really have many leftovers. This made my family very sad. I knew I hadto make us our own bird.

At about noon today, after returning from church, I got the turkey out of the fridge and began getting it ready to roast. I didn't do anything with the giblets (I know...not totally frugal of me...but I'm just not a giblet person.) I did, however, stuff it with celery, carrots, garlic, butter and fresh sage I clipped from my backyard. I stuffed a few sage leaves under the breast skin as well as a few pats of butter and some smashed garlic. Then I drizzled the bird with olive oil and seasoned it with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I heated the oven to 450' to get it good and hot but once I put the bird in I lowered it to 350'. I left the lid off for about an hour and got a little color to the skin. Then I covered it for about 2 hours. In the last hour, I left it uncovered to get some more golden color. It came out gorgeous....if I don't say so myself. I asked my husband and sons to come in the kitchen and "ooh and aah" over it before I carved it...and they did! Each of them oohed and aahed perfectly. It was great.

While the turkey was "resting" I prepared the potatoes and gravy and stuffing and warmed the rolls.

Everything came out quite yummy. I experimented with the stuffing using dark rye bread and a bit of leftover cornbread. It was OK. Not the best I've ever had. I did like the rye bread, but I am used to making stuffing with ground beef or maybe some ground pork. Unfortunately, I didn't have any. So onion and celery it was. I also added a handful of dried cranberries..for the heck of it. It wasn't bad but I prefer savory stuffing. The cranberries made it too sweet for my liking. It wasnt awful. But I've had better.

All in all it was a good meal. And my family was thrilled and full and happy. And to top it off, my husband did the dishes! Thank you Honey.

Be a Smart Shopper

A few ways to be a...

Smart Shopper

1. Watch the Sale Ads - Every week your local grocers send out their sale ads for the week. Often times there will even be Coupons for EXTRA savings. Check the sales...compare the prices...plan your weekly menu based on what's on sale...you can't go wrong! Check the drug store ads as well...my local Rite Aid had cans of chopped clams on sale a few weeks back for $.99 each! I bought 4. These usually run around $3 at the grocery store...
2. Shop at the 99 Cent Stores and the Dollar Sores in your area. Many times they've got GREAT deals on canned food items. My 99 Cent Store even has produce! You've got to be real careful...but if you choose wisely you can get great deals. A while back they had a bag of fresh ginger for $.99. I took it home....peeled it...cut it into 1 inch pieces and popped it in the freezer. Now, whenever I need fresh ginger I just grab a small piece and grate it right in to my recipe. I have found many great, name brand (I'm a stickler about this at the discount stores...it's GOT to be name brand or I won't buy it) products at my local 99 Cent Store...frozen goods, Hillshire Farms kielbasa, Farmer John sausage, to name a few. A few weeks back I got a pack of 10 pitas for 99 cents. I made roasted chicken salad sandwiches with them and they were delicious! (I'll share that recipe soon...it was a keeper!)
3. Buy One Get One Free - this always makes me happy. It's generally better than the 2/$5 (or $3, or $4, etc.) deals. And I know...we don't always need TWO of everything...but if it's free...and it can be stored...why not?
4. Clearance Bin in the meat department!? Why, yes. Of course! I think this might be a new thing to my local Safeway. Either that or I haven't been paying close enough attention. Either way...there is a small section of the meat department labeled "clearance". I am able to get great deals there...and that is often how I plan my meals. OFten times, too, you'll see stickers on meat packages, "Reduced for Quick Sale" or "50% Off at Register". Take advantage of this! I got two pork roasts for $3 each a while back...and one of them was big enough that it fed us THREE MEALS! (Another recipe I'll share soon!) Three HEARTY meals. We're not skimping around my kitchen!

I hope these ideas are helpful. Many of them you already know...and I bet many of you already have these money-saving tricks up your own sleeves. I hope so! If not...I hope you find this helpful. If so...it's nice to meet a like-minded woman doing her best to be a good steward of what she's been given. Enjoy!