A turkey stock day

Another unbelievably cold and snowy day, so there wasn't much I could do.  It's very hard to get motivated when it's like this outside.  The sun was shining, but it was so cold and there was so much snow, it was hard to see it that way.

Staying inside, I tried to find things to do.  I did a little crochet, I thawed a loaf of bread, and tackled the turkey we had last Sunday.  It was our freebie from the market--the one from Thanksgiving.  I was waiting for a special occasion to eat it, being as though it was a big turkey, and, I don't know, but doesn't it always seem like a whole turkey needs to be part of a big celebration or something?  Having it for just 4 people seemed silly.  But  last Sunday we needed that turkey.  This winter is LONG, and the kids are going insane from being inside, and so our we.  We just needed a pick me up.  So we had a turkey.  It was a good meal, nothing fancy, and left everyone with a good feeling inside.

Afterwards I had a 20 lb carcass to deal with.  We stripped all the meat off the bones Sunday, and I froze all the extra stuff--bones we won't eat, pieces that were too fatty, weird stuff I can't identify, that kind of thing.  Today I figured I had nothing else to do, so I'd make stock.  It's nice to do--throw everything in a pot, bury it in water, and walk away.  All day long I let it simmer.  When it was done, I had 2 pots full of stock and a soggy mess of everything else. 

When I last made chicken stock, I wanted to put it in something.  There is just no way to use a large quantity of stock so quickly that it doesn't go bad, and I didn't know what to keep it in.  I decided on a take-out like tray from the dollar store.  At 2 for $1.00, they fit into my budget, and they have a tinfoil bottom and a clear plastic top that I can write on.  I can fill them with a measured quantity, mark it, and put them in the chest freezer---VERY carefully.  Then I can pull them out and thaw them when needed.  Win win. 

I pulled out the pans I had left, and the ones I have already used and washed (reusable is good!), and filled them up.  They hold about 2 cups each.  Then the pioneer in me kicked in, and I figured I could use the freezer, but....

...why not let Mother Nature do it for me? 

So that's what I did.  I ran out of trays, so I will get some more tomorrow, and the soggy mess?  Well, I have a troop of little "recyclers" living just outside.  The chickens were grateful for the warm dinner.  They ate the whole deal, and hopefully will use it to light their little internal furnaces this cold night.  And of course, they'll turn it into eggs for us. Win win again.

Overall, it was a good day.  I made cookies as well, just because I really needed a cookie today.  Ever have a day like that?  I just really needed one, so I made brown sugar cookies, which I haven't made in years.  They are as good as I remember.  Lovely!  The cookies were good, the stock was good, the day was good.  Here's to another good day tomorrow!