Now that I have made a recipe with the turkey legs, there is still the business of cooking the leftover bits. This includes the neck, backbone, giblets and the rest of the turkey frame. I typically like to use a slow cooker for this because it does such a good job bringing out goodness from the bones for a lovely homemade broth and making the last bits of meat easy to remove. I am using a recipe from the Mission Health Blog for Turkey and Cranberry Stew. I chose this recipe because I have a bunch of frozen fresh cranberries in my freezer and while this uses cooked turkey, I can use the frame instead for a fuller flavor. My freezer is full of stuff and I need to do another recipe creation from what I have lurking in there. I have a lot of stuff on hand that I could easily make into something. That’s a post for another day. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I increased the amount of cranberries to accommodate the amount I had in the freezer.
• I added kale to increase the vitamin C.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Turkey Cranberry Stew

Serves 6

• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 rib celery, cut into thin slices
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut in half, then into bite-size pieces
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 cups water
• 1 sweet, juicy apple, peeled, cored and cut into bite-size pieces
• 12 ounces frozen (and defrosted) cranberries or canned whole cranberries, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 pound chopped kale
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 turkey frame

In a deep pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until it softens, about 4 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, red bell peppers and sweet potato. Lower heat to medium and, stirring frequently, sauté until the vegetables become lightly browned. Add the bay leaf, thyme, water, cooked vegetables, turkey frame, and cranberries to a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Add the apple and kale and cook for another 30 minutes.  Serve.