Everything but the gobble

This was last week's freezer cooking session. I try to use everything I possibly can when I cook. It was high time to use the turkey bones from last Thanksgiving, which had kind of been forgotten about at the bottom of the freezer...oops!

Here is the delicious stock I made from nothing but those bones and some water. (It almost looks like soup already!)  I filled the stock pot up until the bones were nearly submerged, and then just let it simmer for a couple of hours. The amount of water really depends on how rich you want your stock and how much you want to make.No hard and fast rules here...just let the poultry carcass boil for awhile, until you start to see some colorful, flavorful liquid. The longer, the better.  It's amazing how much can be gotten from just a few bones!  The only drawback is that your house will smell so delicious, you might be like me and crave mashed potatoes and chicken gravy for the rest of the afternoon.

And voila, my stocks are ready for the freezer once more. I will use this stock to make gravies, and also as the base for homemade 'condensed' soups (such as cream of mushroom, cream of chicken (of course!) and even cream of celery. It will also make a great chicken soup base either with noodles or rice.  Stock adds a real restaurant-level quality of flavor to seasoned rice side dishes. 
Two things I've learned in just the last few years of my radical frugality:  1.) it's amazing how much just one bird will yield for food...and 2.) how rich and 'gourmet-like' poultry dishes taste when you use genuine stock. Having stock in my kitchen makes me feel like a genuine chef! 
Oh, and one more thing, I don't worry about the fat in the liquid...it rises to the top of the containers, hardens and is easily removed when the stock is used.