Tasty Tuesday - Getting the most out of your roast turkey or chicken

I don't really have a recipe to share today, but I thought I would share with you how I get a lot of meals out of one roast turkey or chicken since I did this last week. I used a turkey this time, but this can also be done with a chicken, just on a smaller scale. I can usually get at least a week's worth of meals and a bunch of broth out of one 15-20 lb turkey. On the day that I roast it, we use some of the meat for that night's dinner, along with gravy made from the pan drippings. After it has cooled (usually the next day), I strip all the meat off the bones and chop it all up into bite sized pieces. I divide the meat up into approximately 2 cup amounts (since that is about what most recipes call for) and put all but one into pint size freezer bags. I put all the bags in the freezer and they are all ready to go for recipes that call for cooked chopped turkey or chicken. The remaining 2 cups I use for a recipe later in the week. With my 15 lb turkey last week I put 5 bags in the freezer.
Next I take all the bones and toss them into a large pot to make broth. With a turkey, I usually divide it between 2 pots.

Then add some chopped up carrots, celery (with the leaves) and onions, and about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper, and a sprig of parsley to each pot. Add enough water to cover it all and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for about 1 hour. Then use a cheese cloth and strain everything out of the broth. Discard all the bones and vegetables and let the broth cool a bit. Then lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top so that it is laying right on the broth and cool completely in the fridge. Once it is cool, the fat will have risen to the top and when you remove the plastic wrap, most of it will stick to the wrap, making it easy to remove. (I was going to get a picture of this for you, but somehow between the cooking and cooling of the broth our camera got broke!) If you don't want to use the plastic wrap, you can still use a spoon and skim off the fat. Then place in freezer bags or containers in the your desired amount. Be sure to leave enough room for expansion! I usually do some in 1 cup and some in 4 cup amounts because most recipes call for whole cup amounts and my favorite soup recipe calls for 4 cups of broth. Then I can just unthaw as needed and it is ready to go! With this turkey I got 4 quart jars and 3 small jars that I put 1 cups worth in.

Do you have any great money saving tips that you use in your kitchen? I would love to hear them, so leave me a comment!

I am linking this post up with Raising Homemakers!