making our dollars stretch with creative meal planning: turkey edition


sometimes i misjudge our budget & overspend (because as we all know, to be human is to not be perfect).

such was the case for april. by mid april, i had about $50 left for groceries (oops!) & about two weeks left to make that money stretch. thankfully, in those moments, i often feel a surge of creativity.

i opened up our freezer & started digging. ahhh... the frozen turkey purchased post-thanksgiving on major sale. 

with a bit of encouragement  & instruction from my foodie friends, i cooked that baby right up.


so in honor of #MaySpendingFreeze, i thought i'd share how i made our dollars stretch & used up that turkey for a delicious week of meals! 


1. homemade broth
once i roasted my turkey & pulled off the meat (to be stored in a container in the fridge), i placed all the bones in my crockpot along with fresh sage, salt & pepper. i covered the bones & herb mixture with water. i put my crockpot on low & allowed it to simmer overnight. in the morning, we woke up to a delicious smell! i drained my golden broth & poured it into large-mouth mason jars to be used for soups & stews.


2. jambalaya
using the pulled turkey meat & broth, i made a delicious jambalaya! i used this recipe, substituting the chicken breast for turkey & omitting the shrimp. 

3. turkey quesadillas
i love using leftover protein at the end of the week to make quesadillas. a mixture of vegetables, meat, cheese & tortillas on the stovetop makes for the perfect sunday dinner!


4. turkey pineapple lettuce wraps
as recommended by a friend, i combined pineapple & turkey meat to make a delicious lettuce wrap paired perfectly with salsa & tortilla chips. i made up our recipe as i cooked, but this recipe is a close fit to our dinner. 

5. fresh grilled turkey salad
for lunch most days, we harvested fresh salad greens from the garden & topped them with a homemade salad dressing & grilled turkey. it made for a delicious lunch & one that could also serve as a balanced dinner option!


if you're in a pinch financially, just know that you are not alone! beauty can be found in making use of what we already have, friends.

i'd love to read some of your penny pinching meal ideas! please share!
love,
natalie

p.s. you can find my step-by-step guide on how i meal plan here

3 comments:

Debra said...

I love all of these great ideas, thanks so much for sharing with us. I am always looking for great ways to feed my family for less. :-) Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Domestically Frantic said...

One of our favorites to use a few times is pot roast. It of course is a wonderful meal with carrots and potatoes but the leftovers make amazing burritos. Shred up the meat and lay on a tortilla add a few hand squished carrots and potatoes. Add a little cheese and enchilada sauce. Roll up the tortilla and warm in the oven. We also use it to make bbq sandwiches. Just add your favorite bbq sauce to the shredded meat. The leftover veggies make yummy breakfast burritos with added scrambled eggs and either sausage or bacon. Your turkey recipes sound delicious.

Shannan Martin said...

You're my favey-fave.

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