Ok.  So now you have that turkey carcass and a bunch of leftover turkey.  My brother and sister-in-law do not typically use the carcass (we ate at their house on Thanksgiving).  So I decided to take it home along with the rest of the leftover turkey.  We cooked a bone-in turkey breast this year, which turned out great.  It’s a good option when you have a bunch of folks that don’t care for dark meat and you don’t want to deal with a full bird.  I’m a dark meat girl myself, but the recipe I use to make turkey makes the turkey breast juicy and flavorful.  One of these days I’ll do the recipe for you (hint: it’s so simple, you wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself.).  But for now, on to the turkey carcass.  I recommend when you cut up your turkey to not clean all the meat off the bones.  When you boil your carcass, you end of with a flavorful broth and all the remaining meat comes off easily.  I typically make a soup, stew or chili because it uses the bones and the meat.  No waste.  I came up with a healthy lentil stew that hits all of your macros.  Hopefully you make this for yourself.  The total weight of the turkey meat I calculated by weighing the bones before cooking and then weighing the bones after I took off all the meat.

Here are the stats for this recipe:

• 272 Calories
• 6g Fat
• 53mg Cholesterol
• 304mg Sodium
• 634mg Potassium
• 17g Carbohydrates
• 28g Protein
• 87% Vitamin A
• 83% Vitamin C
• 3% Calcium
• 5% Iron

2017 Thanksgiving Leftover Lentil Stew

Serves 7

• 1 turkey carcass with the meat attached (Mine was 2lbs 15.2 oz.  Total meat 9.3oz)
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 2 cups brown lentils
• 1 large head of green cabbage
• 8 oz Chardonnay (I had some wine to use up)
• Enough water to cover the turkey carcass

1. Get a large pot and heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the yellow onion and carrot and cook until brown.
2. Wrap the turkey carcass in cheesecloth and tie securely.
3. Add the turkey carcass, thyme, garlic and the water and bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, remove the bones and pick off the meat.  Add the meat back to the pot and add any other leftover turkey scraps you have. Add in any extra meat if you need it.
5. Add in the lentils, chardonnay and shredded cabbage.  Cook for another 30 minutes until the lentils are tender.