Happy Leftovers day!

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now we're on to my favorite part- the leftovers. Not often can a meal turn into a week of yummy meals for your family, but Thanksgiving gives us more to be thankful for. If you get tired of having a Thanksgiving meal each night then mix it up. Use turkey for stir-fry or fajitas, turn mashed potatoes into potato pancakes, add sweet potatoes to chili.  Really the possibilities are endless. That's why my family did a full Thanksgiving meal even though we were also eating at my in-laws.

One of my favorite things to do is make soup. This meal is practically the most frugal of the all. Cut as much meat off your turkey as you can- but don't throw out that carcass! By making it into soup you can score one more meal, for pennies.

Add the carcass to a big pot of water and boil it for a few hours. Just start it as you get up for Black Friday sales and smell it simmer. If you have a big enough crock pot just set it up and head out the door.  If you have carrot or celery ends add them to the pot for even more flavor.

Then after a few hours turn it into soup. Strain out the bones and you'll be surprised at just how much meat was hiding. Chop up onions, carrots, celery- or even throw in the leftover veggies from yesterday. Add the veggies and meat back to the broth and continue to simmer. You can add some cooked rice or pasta before serving.

Soup is already a frugal meal, but using everything from your Thanksgiving turkey can help keep to your budget this holiday season.