Do you need enough turkey for sandwiches on Boxing day?
Christmas panics me. So much food and so many opportunities to scrape it into the bin uneaten and wasted. When there are families suffering real hardships can we really all overindulge without a thought for others? A spur of the moment midweek dinner has given me an idea.
It was Thanksgiving on Thursday, so I thought it would be fun to have a turkey dinner whilst watching the NFL game in our house on the south London / Surrey borders. Of course I had no plans to cook a whole turkey. A turkey portion was the only option.
I looked at the turkey thighs and the turkey legs, both meaty and affordable. In the end I plumped for a boned out breast for the magnificent sum of 4 pounds. Large enough to feed 3 adults it would easily feed two adults and two children, especially when bulked out with lots of vegetables and a good splash of gravy.
Roasted in the oven for an hour and 20 minutes, along with a tray of potatoes and sweet potatoes, a few chipolatas and bacon on the crispy skin the turkey was moist and succulent. Do add bread sauce, stuffing and a big pan of green vegetables too. I’ll have just one sprout thank you, to show willing!
Just think, do you need to buy a bird the size of a small toddler just for cold turkey sandwiches the following day? Could you live without Turkey curry for just one year? Wouldn’t it be great not to have to completely rearrange the fridge to house the carcass?
mintcustard 
I like the idea of only buying what you need for when you need it, but we always do use the whole turkey … and make stock/soup from the carcass and on the rare occasion that there should be any meat leftover, it gets frozen, so not so wasteful. I love eating turkey at any time of year.
I love making use of every scrap but I just want people to feel they have a choice. Planning is the key. I think sometimes we get sucked into doing what is expected of us and not what we actually need or in some cases can really afford.
We are goose-eaters, and always order the largest size. Leftovers are the best bit – cold with chutneys and bubble & squeak, then in a stew. Yum! x
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