One great thing about having turkey for dinner is all of the fantastic meals you can make with the leftovers. I love using leftovers and there are many dishes you can make with the leftover turkey, like turkey broth for soup, turkey potpies, turkey salad sandwiches, and appetizers. You can use turkey broth instead of chicken broth in many recipes.

Turkey Broth

Ingredients
Turkey carcass, most meat removed
1 onion, quartered
2 stalks of celery or the flowery tops of celery
2 carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cheesecloth

Preparation
After the turkey is served for dinner remove the meat from the bones.  Take the bones and put them in a large stockpot like the Cuisinart Classic Stockpot
. Cover with water, two or three inches above the carcass. You can break up the carcass a little bit to fit the pan. You do not want slivers of bone in the broth; so do not break up the bones a lot.

Add one onion, celery and carrots cut in half.

Put a lid on the pot.  Bring to a boil, and then turn it down to simmer and let it cook for 5-6 hours. Skim off any foam that may float to the surface of the stock. Turn it off and let it cool.

When it is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the large bones and vegetables. Take a piece of cheesecloth and place in a colander.  Strain the broth through the cloth into a pan. When I did not have cheesecloth, I have used a cotton piece of material. You can also strain the broth through a very fine mesh strainer placed over a large pot.

After you have strained the broth, put 1-2 cups of broth in plastic bags. Label the plastic bag and place the bags flat on cookie sheet and freeze it. When frozen remove the bags from the cookie sheet and stack in the freezer.

Tip:
The small pieces of meat that you remove from the bones can used in recipes like turkey enchiladas, appetizers, and turkey salad sandwiches.

To freeze the turkey, place 1/3 to 1/2 cup gravy in a plastic bag with the meat and it will not freezer burn or dry out as quickly.

Turkey Soup

Ingredients
1/2 cup turkey
1 cup water
1 tablespoon celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon onion, finely chopped
1 cup cooked egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
Take your turkey broth out of the freezer and remove the bag.  Place the broth in a microwave-safe container. Defrost in the microwave.

You can also defrost the broth on the stove by placing the bag of broth in a pan of water and bringing it to a boil.

Cut turkey, white or dark meat it doesn’t matter, and cut in bite-size pieces.

In a large pan add the broth and turkey. Add water, about a tablespoon of chopped celery, and about a teaspoon of onion.  Bring to a boil and add cooked egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:
Instead of using egg noodles add a cup of rice.
You can use chicken bones to make chicken broth.
Turkey can replace chicken in many recipes.

Enjoy!