Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! And I thought it would be a good idea to go over some nice Thanksgiving tips. First of all, no matter how you slice it and how many people are over for Thanksgiving, there are always leftovers sooooo I thought it might be a good idea to give some ideas on what to do with those leftovers so nothing gets wasted. In fact, even if you are going to someone else's home for Thanksgiving, you should take advantage of the awesome prices for turkey right now and make one of your own at a later date.

After the meal is through get all the meat off of that turkey carcass. You can easily freeze left over turkey by separating it into cup sizes, wrapping it up in foil and then putting it in a freezer bag. You can put the carcass in the freezer to and work on making a turkey stock the next day.

I have come to completely rely on the stock I have made rather than buying soup broths or stocks. It is really easy to do. If you have a crock pot, I highly recommend using it, because it couldn't be any simpler. Just put the carcass and some veggies in the crock pot and cover it with water. Cook it on low all day. A crock pot will use less energy than putting it on the stove, and you don't have to watch it at all. After 8 or more hours, strain the fluid out and put in containers to freeze. You can use this stock later as a base for soups, gravy, or for your liquid when doing other crock pot cooking. Seriously since I started doing this, I never buy canned broth any more.

Now when it comes to the left over turkey there are many recipes you can try. My family loves to make turkey sandwiches, but even that can get old. For me a turkey sandwich tastes best the first day. Here are some recipe links you might like to try.


Turkey and Mashed Potato Croquettes (here is a great way to use some leftover turkey and left over mashed potatoes). This recipe came from About.com from Diana Rattray

Stuffing Frittata (another great recipe which will give you a way to get some use out of that tasty leftover stuffing). I found this recipe at My Last Bite.

After Thanksgiving Turkey Salad recipe. Why not enjoy something with a little nut and crunch? This recipe really looks tasty, and I picked it up at CDKitchen.

Turkey Tetrazzini II Kind of self explanatory here. Just another way to use up that yummy turkey. This came from All Recipes which has loads of amazing recipes you will want to check out.

Now for those people who may not have someone to share Thanksgiving with or who may not be able to afford the celebration, there are several communities offering a free Thanksgiving meal for their community. Here are some details:

Word of Life Assembly 8th Annual Free Thanksgiving Dinner

Word of Life Assembly of Chino Valley, welcomes the tri-city community to Thanksgiving Dinner on Tuesday, November 23rd from 4-7:30pm. Enjoy smoked rotisserie turkey and ham, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, dressing and dessert. We are honored to bless those in our community who can not provide for themselves. We also will deliver meals in chino Valley and Paulden to the homebound. Come join us for a wonderful time of food,fellowship and fun. Jump castles for the kids! 590 W Road 1 North, Chino Valley, AZ For more information 928-636-4224

Fourth Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner - Mayer, Cordes Lakes and Spring Valley

Tuesday, November 23rd will be our fourth annual Community Thanksgiving dinner for Mayer, Cordes Lakes, and Spring Valley. Don't miss out on a hot meal for the holidays. Because of the generous donations from many, we have been able to feed 100s of people who might not have a hot meal for the holidays. Begins at 5:00 pm at Mayer High School. Call for more information: 928-533-4451

Church on the Street annual Thanksgiving Feed (November 26)

All are welcome! Come join us in fellowship, food and the love of Christ as we feed Thanksgiving dinner to the public the day after Thanksgiving day (Friday 26th) at 11:00 am at Joe's Place 105 West Carleton St, Prescott.

Those who would like to volunteer please call pastor Wes at 928-771-8428.


FREEBIES


Burt's Bees is giving a free sample of their lotion. Follow the facebook link, take the quiz, and get hooked up with some fabulous Burt's Bees moisturizer.

LINK: Burt's Bees Moisturizer

Sign up with Beyond Bodi Heat for a free Bodi Heat patch. One per household.

LINK: Beyond Bodi Heat

While supplies last, Sam's club member can get a free sample of Dove hair care.

LINK: Dove Sample from Sam's

If you are still on the look out for a calendar, you can get the 2011 Unity Calendar: The Year of Abundant Living.

LINK: The Year of Abundant Living Calendar

Want a little help with your Thanksgiving cooking? Follow the link below for a free Martha Stewart e-cookbook.

LINK: Martha Stewart Cookbook

Get Sara Groves O Holy Night Tour - The Prison Show album for free straight from her website. Follow the link below.

LINK: Sara Groves CD O Holy Night

The free download of the week from FreeCCM is Skillet's "Best Kept Secret."

LINK: FreeCCM

Amazon has a free album download of Veggie Tales "The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree."

LINK: The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree

Here is another free way to help those who are less fortunate. Image links to Marine's Toy's For Tot's site

Okay you facebook people! Here is a great opportunity to do some good without spending a dime. Pier One Imports is the official drop off for Toys For Tots, and they are also doing something special. For each new fan they get on facebook, they will donate a $1 to Toys for Tots up to $100,000! I don't know where they stared in the fan zone so even if they are past 100,000 fans, please like them because this is for every NEW fan. This is going on from November 1 to December 1.


And please do not forget to search through Goodsearch.com. This is another painless way to give that I cannot suggest enough. Simply put Radio Shine in the charity sight, click verify, and every search will give a penny to Radio Shine. Those pennies add up, and especially so when you also shop through Goodshop.com. Again, put Radio Shine in the charity box, click verify, and Radio Shine will receive a percentage of that sale at no additional cost to you. It is a completely painless way to bless. Also when you shop through Goodshop.com you also will have a chance to receive special discounts. I do hope you check it out. Follow the link below. Check this out, if just 100 of Radio Shine's listeners did two searches a day through Goodsearch (again putting Radio Shine as the charity), Radio Shine could earn $730! With shopping, it goes up from there!

LINK: Goodsearch

BLACK FRIDAY

The day after Thanksgiving is swiftly approaching. Get some Black Friday sneak peeks by following the links below.

GottaDeal
Bargain Finders
BlackFridayAds
TheBlackFriday
BlackFriday2010 (has a contest too!)