Turkey Stew

Hey folks! I've finally come up with something worth contributing. I'm going to preface this recipe with a warning: it requires a slow cooker (or crock pot, depending on where you grew up). The good news... crock pots are cheap. A 2 quart model can be had for $10 at Walmart, and you could up that to a 6 quart for $20ish. I got my 6 quart (in red!) for $15 because it was on sale at Target. If possible, look for these features:

-A dial with four settings: 'off' 'low' 'hot' and 'warm.' The 'warm' is really invaluable.

-A pot with a removable crock section for easy cleaning. In layman's terms, it means you can lift the cooking vessel out of the heater and wash it. If your model does not separate, DO NOT SUBMERGE IT. Danger danger danger. And, you know, $10 down the drain 'cause you have to get a new one.
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Now, on to the good stuff. This recipe can be scaled up or down depending on your needs, but heck... make six quarts and freeze five for later, you'll eat like royalty for a week. Also, it's honestly pennies per serving.

Turkey Stew with Wild Rice

Makes 6-8 hefty servings as written below.


Ingredients:
-Three turkey thighs, bone in
-One medium yellow onion
-Two celery stalks
-Two handfuls of mushrooms, any kind. About half a carton if you get them in a package.
-Two cups cooked wild rice
-Two 10oz cans of cream of mushroom soup
-Salt, pepper to taste, same goes for herbs. Whatever you like.
-1/2 cup milk (or water, but milk's nice)

Ok, now to cook!

Step one: disassembly. Chop your onion and celery into chunks about the size of silver dollars and dump them into the pot. Take your thawed turkey thighs and remove the skin, then cut the meat from the bone as best you can. Cut away excess connective tissue and fat, then cube the meat to about the same size as the veggies. Throw the meat AND the bones into the pot- the bones will add a lot of flavor and body to the stew, and you can remove them when it's finished cooking.

Step two: add the liquids. Both cans of cream of mushroom soup go in, along with the milk.

Step three: wait. For a long time. The great thing about slow cookers is that you can set up dinner in the morning and it'll be waiting for you when you get back home at the end of the day. The times aren't too specific, but here's a general guide-
-On the 'low' setting, cook 8 hours
-On the 'high' setting, cook 4 hours

For things like beef stew I like to sautee the beef by itself on high, then add the rest of the ingredients and turn the dial to low for 6-7 hours. For this I took the short route and did straight high for 4 hours.

When the stew has about a half hour to go, chop up your mushrooms into chunks (that's right, same size- doesn't have to be pretty) and get out about two cups of leftover wild rice. Make sure it's cooked rice, not raw! Add these to the pot and stir. Now would also be a good time to add some seasonings, but don't go crazy... nothing more yucky than a soup that could pass as a saltlick.

Thirty minutes later, turn off the slow cooker and pull out the three thigh bones. Any meat that remained on them when you threw them in will be falling off the bone by now... feel free to scrape the last bits of meaty goodness into the stew before giving the dog the bones. Then ladel up a bowl and grab a thick cut slice of toasted sourdough bread, it's time to eat!

Like I said before, I recommend making the full six quarts and freezing five. Freeze in individual serving sizes (use big plastic picnic cups for cheap freezer storage) and it should keep for ages. If you're feeling a bit of an economic pinch, you could easily stretch this stew by adding another can of cream of mushroom soup. It'll be a bit looser, but you're still going to feel full. And hey, add whatever veggies you need to use up before they go bad. Potato chunks could be nice, or peas- maybe even carrots.

I'll update this post later with a picture. Guess what I'm having for lunch tomorrow?