Thrifty Cooking: Meals 4 & 5 from the 5 Meals from One Turkey Meal Plan

This is the last installment in my 5-meals-from-1 turkey meal plan. I have to say, that $2.92 was the best investment I could make! The cooking method was great and the meat was flavorful. The first week, I made tacos, spaghetti, and modified BLT sandwiches. My family devoured them all, and the tacos and spaghetti were enough for 2 day's worth of lunches for my husband and I, so they were definitely more of a "serves 12" recipe! 

I froze 2 additional servings of meat for this week's last 2 recipes. I thawed them overnight in the refrigerator and for meal 4, I chose chicken turkey and dumplings.

My recipe is tried and true and just awesome in my opinion. If you absolutely must take a short-cut, you could use Bisquick's recipe for dumplings, after doubling it, and rolling them out. Not the same, but close enough for a busy day.

Here is the recipe, using a whole chicken. Since I already had my turkey meat and broth done, I just made my dumplings, heated up my stock in a big sauce pan and started at the line "drop each square into simmering stock". MAJOR time-saver!

Meal 4: Turkey and Dumplings:

Chicken or Turkey & Dumplings

whole chicken
enough water to cover chicken
salt
black pepper
whole onion, quartered (can add 2, depending on preference)
head of garlic, cut in half (not peeled)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp thyme
1 tsp sage
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Put the chicken in the pot & cover with water. Add all of the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low & cover,  let it simmer 2 hours. When done, remove chicken & set aside to cool. Strain stock in a colander & throw everything away but the stock. You can either skim the fat off the top, or if you have time, let cool in refrigerator for an hour--the fat will make a layer on top to take off easier. Return the stock to the stove & bring to a simmer. Do not mess with chicken yet.

Dumplings
4 c flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 and 1/4 c milk, room temperature

Mix the dry ingredients first. Slowly add the ROOM TEMPERATURE milk to the dry mixture until smooth. Let the dough rest 10 minutes. Roll or press out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness (handle as little as possible for good dumplings). Cut into 1/2 inch squares--I use a pizza cutter.

Drop each square into simmering stock. They will swell or sink, thickening the stock. Simmer dumplings for 25 minutes. Stir often. While cooking dumplings, debone the chicken. Drop into the pot when the dumplings are finishing their cooking time (careful not to break dumplings). Cook another 5 minutes. At the end, I add about a half cup to a full cup of milk to my pot, to make it a bit creamier.

Taste, taste, taste. Add pepper or salt if necessary.

This serves 8, at minimum, and likely 10. 

We ate other things for the next 2 days, but then it was time to enjoy the last of our turkey. I chose a pot pie, since my guys absolutely love them, and it's easy!

Meal 5: Turkey Pot Pie
I had a little fun with my slits on top—used a cookie cutter to punch a shape into it. Christmas pot-pie!

2 pie crusts, deep dish if frozen
Leftover chicken or turkey, chopped (I think I had about 2 cups)
Half a bag of frozen  peas and carrots
1 cup of diced frozen "southern-style" Hash brown potatoes, or dice a fresh potato and saute until moderately soft
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (or make your own, as I do and explain here)
1-2 cups of chicken or turkey broth, depending on how "soupy" you like your filling

Mix everything except the crust together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill a pie crust with mixture. Top with second pie crust and crimp edges together with a fork. Cut a couple of slits into the top of the pie and place on a baking pan to catch any overflow. Cook at 375° for 45 minutes, or until golden. Let rest 10 minutes and serve.  This serves 5.

Price break-down:
(I didn't add the broth. The broth is included in the price of my turkey, since it was all homemade. I also do not include basic staples like seasonings or baking soda/powder, oil, etc.)

Meal 4:
Turkey: 58 cents
Flour: approximately $2
Milk: approximately $1.50

Total: $4.08 for 8 servings

Meal 5:
Turkey: 58 cents
2 frozen pie crusts: $2.25
Half bag of frozen veggies: 50 cents
1 cup of diced frozen potatoes: estimating 60 cents
1 can of cream of mushroom soup: I made my own, but a can is generally 75 cents in my area

Total: $3.93 for 5 servings

Grand Total for 2 Meals: $8.01, which broke down to 62 CENTS per serving for us!!! Thriftiest meal planning yet!

Do yourself a favor: if you see a turkey on sale, pick one up! You can save so much money with one of these. I am already on the look-out for another one!