Turkey and Gravy

What a find! This weekend I went shopping and found turkey (frozen whole turkeys) for 79 cents a pound. What a deal and because I had room in my freezer, I bought two. One for now and another for Thanksgiving.

If you are looking for ways to stretch your dollar, consider buying a whole turkey. They are often more than a dollar a pound. But of course, the best value will be when you can purchase one on sale.... and preferably less than a dollar a pound.

How did I prepare it? I baked it. Here's how. First, I let the turkey thaw in the refrigerator. When it was completely thawed, I took it out of the package, rinsed it and put it in a nesco . You could also put it in a roaster pan in your oven. All I put on for seasonings were salt and pepper. Because my turkey was about 14 pounds, it took about 3 1/2 hours to bake (at 350 degrees). You should allow about 20 minutes per pound. Be sure to baste it about every 30 minutes so that it does not dry out.

Once the turkey was done, I pulled all the meat from the bones, threw the bones and skin away, and chopped the meat into medium size pieces.

Because my family likes turkey and gravy, I used the drippings to make gravy. I took a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken soup and mixed it in the drippings. Then I added about 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of chicken soup base and stirred it well. On the side mix (in a bowl) about four cups of cold milk and 4-5 tablespoons of flour. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, pour the flour/milk mixture in. It should thicken nicely.

Once my gravy is thick enough, I chop up the turkey into the size of pieces we like (small) and mix it with the gravy.

Because it is way more than my family can eat at once, I put several containers in the freezer for a quick meal at another time.

What did this cost me?

About $10 for the turkey and $1.50 for the soup. I already had the spices, flour, and milk so I did not have to buy any.

Not a bad deal!