Another thing I did to stretch a meal.

[boston bean]

I went to the local turkey farm and got a 14pounder. We are on our second day of meals.

Yesterday was the turkey dinner.
Today was an open faced turkey sandwich with homemade gravy.

Turkey was 50 bucks. Probably spent 60 altogether, but tomorrow we will have turkey soup that I make with the carcass.

Then more sandwiches etc.

I suspect we will have five or six daysof meals and nibbling food.

So for the two of us 10-12 dollars a day. Not too bad.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Don't forget to use the bones and carcass and skin for turkey stock.

It makes for the base of delicious stews and soups.

[boston bean]

2. Yep. Did that. We love it. I do it in a pressure cooker.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Me too!

[eleny]

6. Pressure cooker love!

Meals in record time. And it brings tough meats to heel, fork tender.

[boston bean]

16. That it does!

[mcar]

4. I regularly get a turkey breast

Usually $1.50/lb, it's 7-8 pounds. Lasts the 2 of us a week or more, between lunches, dinners and soup.

[boston bean]

11. Nice!

[ARPad95]

5. We buy the frozen boneless Butterball turkey breast roasts for $9.98 each for our

every other Sunday dinner menu. They come complete with gravy packet. We simply add mashed potatoes and a side dish of sauteed green beans. No fuss, no muss. There's enough leftover for both of us to have turkey sandwiches for one or two lunches.

https://www.butterball.com/products/turkey-roasts-and-whole-breasts

[boston bean]

17. I have never seen those at the store.

[ARPad95]

20. We get them from our local Walmart. /nt

[msongs]

7. depression era meal stretcher - add more water to the soup nt

[Demovictory9]

56. ..

[lpbk2713]

8. I made a big pot of red beans and rice.

I'll get several meals out of it. I'll freeze half so I don't get tired of it.

[boston bean]

14. I have never made rice and beans.

I am sure I would like them though. How do you make them.

[lpbk2713]

24. You can make it stovetop or in a slow cooker.

I made mine stovetop, it doesn't take as long. There's a recipe online for Popeye's style.

Link: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/stovetop-red-beans-rice

[boston bean]

31. Thank you very much!

[lpbk2713]

32. I add cayenne pepper.

But that's an individual choice. Start off with a 1/4 tsp and see what you think.

[MagickMuffin]

67. Be sure to add the salt AFTER the beans have fully cooked

or you'll get very tough beans and not the tender beans you are wanting. Also cornbread goes really well with the beans as well as rice.

Beans & Rice

Beans & Cornbread make complete proteins.

[eleny]

9. We got two at Thanksgiving but left them in the deep freeze

I want to take one out soon. I'm even determined to make the often chided turkey croquettes. I bet they'd be great with slaw on the side. I've even got a sack of frozen cranberries.

[boston bean]

10. Turkey croquettes? You have a recipe?

[eleny]

19. This is one I bookmarked recently

https://www.skinnytaste.com/baked-turkey-croquettes/

But I'll use Progresso Italian crumbs because it's what we have on hand. I could make a whole wheat bread and make our own crumbs. But the Progresso are so darned delicious.

[boston bean]

21. Those look good! I think I am going to try!

[eleny]

25. I liked how they're baked instead of fried

[boston bean]

30. I liked that too.

[crickets]

61. Turkey croquettes sound yummy! Thanks for the link - bookmarked. nt

[eleny]

64. I'll be thinking of DU as I prepare these!

[SoCalDem]

12. I can get at least 6 meals from 2 lbs of ground beef n/t

[boston bean]

15. Ok, spill it.

[SoCalDem]

62. Here goes: with chicken recipes too

6 lbs of ground beef & 6 chicken breasts

Lots of people say they cannot cook or do not have time…or they can eat fast food cheaper

Here’s a list of multiple meals from the above main ingredients

I feed 2 (but of course these can be easily increased for family size)

#1
The obvious hamburgers (1 lb) served with store bought potato salad, & some grapes (or other fruit)

#2
1 lb for spaghetti sauce..( I have gotten lazy & use prego with added spaghetti seasoning) I add italian seasoning to taste and whatever pasta I have
(at least 4 servings) serve with a salad and bread of choice

#3
2 lbs + 1 minced onion+ 2 eggs + stale bread (food processor) (more bread/more meatloaf) I have taken to making these in burger form and making gravy from pan drippings
Served with green beans/small salad/baked potato/baked apple w/cinnamon
Fresh from the oven + multiple cold meatloaf sandwiches …) I usually freeze it because we get tired of it and don’t want to throw it out.. freezes well

#4
2 lb + 1 large diced onion + 2 large cans of tomatoes (mooshed up) + 1 med can of tomato sauce + 3 small cans of kidney beans (or beans you prefer) + 3 bay leaves + chili powder to taste
Makes a LOT of pretty darned tasty chili.. I usually end up freezing the leftovers

#5
Cook all chicken breasts (the ones with skin and ribs..take cut the bones out) save bones for chicken stock
Olive oil..brown well and sprinkle with Salad Supreme (all sides)
Serve on a bed of rice + broccoli + sliced oranges

#6
Use a food processor/chopped to shred 2 chicken breasts
Add 4 celery stalks (diced finely) + 1 small minced onion+ salad supreme to taste + mayo to get the consistency you like…refrigerate & prepare to have the best chicken salad ever
I serve it on squaw bread with lettuce & paper thin sliced tomato w/salt & pepper
Makes a LOT of sandwiches (at least 10-12)

#7
Remaining 2 cooked chicken breasts.. slice diagonally for chef salad with whatever you like in a big ole salad

These are ALL super easy and anyone can do it..

*Salad Supreme is a McCormick spice & I have found it at Dollar General for a buck  It’s also wonderful to put on chopped potatoes + sliced onion cooked in olive oil (as you cook them)

[MoonlitKnight]

26. Rice a Roni Spanish Rice

Add the can of tomatoes per instructions, plus cooked ground beef to make it a meal instead of a side.

Add to spaghetti sauce.

Sloppy Joes.

Tacos and burritos, nachos, etc.

Chilli.

Make 12 quarter pound hamburgers.

Add to Mac and cheese.

[Blue_true]

51. Yeah, I can do about that also.

Burgers, beef, roni and a little cheese, beef, beans and rice, hard seared hamburger soap with choice of veggies added in. I am single, so I can likely go well past 6 meals if I wanted to. I really don't eat a lot of meat, a burger, for example, would be no more than 4 ounces and with tomato, onion, a slice of cheese on a bun, that would be dinner or, if I am at home, lunch.

[Victor_c3]

13. Eat mostly vegetarian, you save a lot of monie when you don't eat meat n/t

[boston bean]

18. Veggies can also be very expensive.

[Victor_c3]

22. They can be, but avoid the organic section and they're more reasonable

[boston bean]

23. That is my downfall. I go to whole foods for veggies.

Cause they are more fresh.

[applegrove]

27. I do that with pork roast. I spend $14 on the roast, feed 3 people and

then have yummy sandwiches for me for days. Or i cut it up and put it in my yummy tomato tarragon soup.

[boston bean]

33. I love pork roast. Gonna get one of those next time.

Although my sister sent me a pulled pork recipe she swears by. Need pork shoulder for that.

[applegrove]

34. Boneless pork rib roast. Slather it with butter, garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Delicious. And those sandwiches are to die for.

[boston bean]

37. Yum yum!

[cachukis]

28. Forty nine cents a pound frozen bird next to 1.99 per lb St. Louis

Ribs alongside 8.99 sea scallops and 7.99 jumbo shrimp around 2 lbs of smelt. 10 lbs of King Arthur bread flour 5 quarts of salt free chicken stock, rice, beans, 24 cans of Jai Alai and a local produce market working hard to stay clean and open. Just got the over 65 warning in Fla. Grandparents raised my parents in depression. Lessons learned. Was already hurricane ready.

[boston bean]

29. Good for you. And stay safe!

[cachukis]

45. My grandfather worked in the Back Bay Station at the Post Office as a Supervisor.

He was an immigrant and a newsie in Cambridge as a kid. Because he had a good job he would always bring flour, butter and sugar etc to the neighborhood. I grew up in same neighborhood and heard the stories. He took me around to visits at the St. Vincent De Paul, City Hospital and his favorite, The Soldiers Home in Chelsea. He was a WWI vet.
Learned that there were those who needed help. If you were better off you could do that. You did what you could to keep yourself from that world, but you would help those that you could.
This is all playing out on a grand scale. It happens under the radar all the time.
I feel lucky to be able to help, because I have a turkey in the freezer.

[lillypaddle]

35. Sounds delish

Wish stores would carry whole turkeys through the year.

[boston bean]

36. I think they should carry them too.

People would cook them more than once a year.

Maybe not the huge ones but the 10-15 pound range would be nice.

Luckily there is a placeI can buy one local.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

46. What are the smallest turkey breasts you're seeing in stores?

It's just my son and I here now and we're learning to assemble more healthy meals as time passes. Being raised by Depression-era parents, I can't stand to waste food and would love to find perhaps a half-breast and that would feed us for a while. I do pretty darn good at cooking but prefer to avoid firing up the big gas oven, but instead normally use our small Breville electric oven for baking and broiling. I also enjoy cooking in my skillets.

Looking on Butterball's web site, they don't give me any idea of the size. Would love to find something around 3 - 4 pounds. I could, or course cut a "normal" one in half and freeze one half, but I find we tend to get lazy and forget a lot of stuff in our freezer. Butterball shows a pre-cooked smoked turkey breast I would love to try someday, perhaps sharing half with my daughter to avoid waste.


TIA...........

[boston bean]

47. Hey KY see post 4&5 they discuss frozen turkey breasts.

I usually do the whole turkey in my turkey roaster.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

59. Found what I'm looking for, just right for my son and I.

Butterball sells what they call "Turkey Cuts" in 24oz. packages that will be perfect for us if we can find them in stores.

Rotisserie Turkey Breast Tenderloins or All Natural Turkey Tenderloins - 24oz./6-servings.

KY........

[csziggy]

54. I buy frozen turkeys at Thanksgiving and keep them in the freezer

The one I cooked last weekend was $0.89 a pound for a 14.5 pounder. I figure I will get about 20 servings out of that one turkey: https://www.democraticunderground.com/115789698 In addition, with the fourteen cups of broth made from the carcass I've already made a large batch of mushroom risotto and still have ten cups of broth left to use for other things.

I've had frozen turkeys last a very long time in the freezer - if the freezer is good and cold and there are no power interruptions. I just don't have space to keep two whole turkeys, or even the packaged meals made from them.

Publix here usually has turkeys all year round, but aside from Thanksgiving they usually charge a fairly high price for them. I haven't checked recently but the last time I did it was about $3 a pound. I'd rather buy them cheap and getting one a year makes them even more special.

[lillypaddle]

58. I just don't have room to freeze them

my fridge is just an apartment size fridge and freezer, and no Publix here in KY.

When they have them, I do buy turkey drumsticks.

[Polybius]

66. They do in NYC

They are in every supermarket daily.

[Goodheart]

38. Why are we stretching meals?

There's plenty of food around.

[boston bean]

39. To not have to go out so often.

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

And save money cause don’t know if you noticed or not but millions are out of work.

[Goodheart]

41. Gotcha.

[Retrograde]

52. Not as much money around

A lot of working people are effectively laid off until businesses reopen - if they do. Retirees have seen their IRAs and 401Ks plummet. We don't know how long the shutdown will last, and how lenient landlords/mortgage companies/utilities/etc will be when the bills come do. It makes some sense to be frugal now to 1)get used to it and 2) keep a nest-egg for real emergencies.

[rzemanfl]

40. Two words-Hot Brown. I was going to link to the recipe, but

my computer locked up. You can google.

[boston bean]

42. Just looked. Sounds great!!!!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Brown

[rzemanfl]

43. Very rich food. In normal times we can get the dish at restaurant a few miles away. n/t

[displacedtexan]

44. Thanksgiving pie (or something similar)

Bigger Bolder Baking is a YouTube channel with an Irish woman named Gemma Stafford. Her recipes & demonstrations are fantastic. She makes a pie with her Thanksgiving leftovers that could be adapted for most meats & veggies.
https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/thanksgiving-leftovers-pie/

[boston bean]

50. That is a good idea!

[Blue_true]

48. If you have residual meat, some celery, mayonnaise and mustard,

you can make turkey salad and stretch it even farther.

[boston bean]

49. Yeah, there we go. Another good thought!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

53. My general goal is to have my meals come in at about two dollars each.

That's doable much of the time. Especially with something that stretches well. My own biggest problem is that I live alone, and cannot always finish up something. It really is easier if there are two or more people in the household.

Right now I'm working on a pot roast I bought and fixed two days ago. I think I'll freeze the left over meat and gravy and pull them out in a week or so to finish up.

Tomorrow I'm making something I call Chicken of Muchness, which is adapted from a Middle Eastern recipe I got many years ago. Here's the recipe:

Chicken of Muchness

2 chicken leg quarters
3 or 4 carrots
2 cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 small green pepper
3 or 4 cups of chicken broth
3 bay leaves
3 cinnammon sticks
½ to ¾ tsp each of celery salt, marjoram, thyme, basil, and tarragon
olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour

Bring the chicken to a boil with just enough water to cover. Turn heat down to simmer and skim off scum and fat that comes to the surface. This will take ten to fifteen minutes.

Once skimming is done, put the bay leaves, peeled carrots, and cinnamon sticks in pot with chicken, cover and let simmer for an hour.

Remove carrots and chicken. Let them cool while you sauté the sliced onion and green pepper in a little olive oil. You want them to get a little brown. Put in soup pot. Add the tomatoes.

Make a roux with the butter and flour in that same pan, then add a cup or two of broth. Stir and let it thicken over the heat until it seems thick enough. Pour into pot.

Cut up the carrots, strip the chicken from the bones and return to soup pot. Now add the other seasonings. You will probably need to add more chicken broth to have the right amount of liquid.

Cover and simmer for an hour or so.

Make rice, which takes about 20 minutes, when you’re ready to eat. Put rice in a bowl, then add the chicken of muchness. Ground pepper and some salt and enjoy!

The best part is that this freezes incredibly well. This recipe will give me at least ten servings, possibly more. It depends a bit on how much rice you use. But it is very flavorful and wonderful.

[Ilsa]

55. Bought a Butterball. Still thawing. $1.79/lb.

Spent $19.00. I should be able to get two meals, a lunch of sandwiches, then a turkey pot pie out of it.

[Grasswire2]

57. Our turkey rotation of favorite everyday meals (or chicken)...

1. Roasted, with gravy and stuffing.

2. White meat made into 1970s divan casserole, with broccoli, curried mayo, lemon, covered with cheddar.

3. Fajitas made with shredded meat, sliced bell pepper and onion, fajita mix. Served with tortillas & guacamole.

4. Turkey pie filled with sliced meat, pearl onions, carrots, celery, peas all in a sage-y cream sauce, covered with pie crust.

5. Iron skillet BBQ with home-made BBQ sauce. Blueberry cornmeal muffins and deviled eggs.

6. Fresh ginger stir fry with lots of vegetables and refrigerated japanese noodles.

I buy breasts or whole chickens (local) on sale, poach them with parsley, celery, carrot, onion, a couple of bouillon cubes, then debone and freeze meal portions already sliced or chunked. Easy peasy.

[Polybius]

60. That's a lot for a turkey

The Butterballs at the supermarket near me are only about $22 for that size.

[boston bean]

63. Yes it is. But this time of year is only place to find a whole turkey.

[Polybius]

65. I guess I'm used to NYC

Whole turkeys are in every supermarket 365 days of the year. Sometimes 366.