Thanksgiving is now over, and you have the remnants of seven pies, two metric tons of sides, and a half eaten turkey in your fridge. What do you do with all of those leftovers after you've eaten on them for a couple of days?

Honestly, the sides and pies are easy to deal with. Eat them until you can't anymore, then either freeze or throw out whatever is left after about 5 days, depending on how much is left.

The turkey, however, is a treasures trove of flavor happiness IF you do it right.

First thing first. DO NOT throw out any part of the turkey carcass. Keep every bone that hasn't been gnawed on in the pan with the leftover bird. You'll need all of them for ultimate gobbler recycling.

Once you have eaten all the turkey sandwiches you can stand, pick off any remaining meat from the turkey and store in a zip top bag. Depending on when you're going to use the meat, you can keep it in the fridge for a couple more days or freeze it for up to six months.

Next, put all of the turkey carcass you have left into a stock pot, cover it with water, and bring it to a boil. Add to the water half an onion, a stalk of celery, and a couple of carrots. Boil for ten minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Keep the turkey bones at a light simmer for no less than TWO HOURS (I'll let it go all day sometimes). If the water starts to get low, add more water.

After the turkey bones have given up all their tasty flavors, take out the bones with tongs and toss them in the trash. Then pour the broth thru a fine mesh strainer to get all of the bits out of it.

What you are left with is a beautiful turkey stock that you can use for soups, gravy, turkey and dumplings, turkey gumbo, turkey and rice, whatever you want. Pour it into quart jars and leave them on your counter, with no lid but covered in a kitchen towel until they cool to room temp, then place a lid on them and put them in your freezer.

Now anytime you need a flavorful broth, you have some ready to go!

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