What do I do with the body parts?

I just want to say good for you for reaching out of your comfort zone with your cooking and eating! I think it's absolutely awesome that you are doing so. There is such an exciting world of food out there for you to discover!

For beginner cooking, I strongly suggest the Mark Bittman app How to Cook Everything. There is a cookbook version too. I believe that the app is $7.99, so it's not cheap, but it's a really amazing database of simple and delicious recipes.

If I'm not making a holiday dinner and using the giblets for gravy or stuffing, then I usually just cook them up for the cat or throw them out.

No, I'm not stupid, I'm simply ignorant when it comes to knowing what to do with real food, so please don't give me a hard time.

Here are some recipes for what to do with giblets, mostly for gravy or stuffing.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/search/index?search=turkey+giblets
Taste of Home has yummy recipes with clear directions.
Good place to get ideas, esp. for new cooks.

And yes, in my experience giblets make cats very happy, esp. when cooked.

Cook/stew the neck with the giblets (add onion, celery, bay leaf, etc and enough water to cover the giblets), simmer for about 30-45min or until the meat comes off the neck.

This is pretty much what my mom does.
Leave the little meat pieces in the gravy, might have to pull them off the neck bones.
If you use the heart (I think it's ick) & liver, chop them up fine.

In reading the title of the thread my first advice was going to be "The 3 S's".
Shoot - Shovel - Shut up
It really doesn't apply now though, sigh...

That was sort of my reaction too. :happy:

the crock pot is my best bud.

Also in the Taste of Home site,
if you hover over 'recipes' in their top menu bar,
then in the popup menu look slightly to the right & see "recipes by cooking style",
under that is a section for slow cooker.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cooking-style/slow-cooker-recipes

The only 2 things I've ever made from a TOH recipe that weren't yummy & amazing were:
1 - a recipe that used melted chocolate, & I didn't know to keep water out so it froze, which is my fault it didn't work right
2 - a holiday fudge recipe that just tasted wrong, maybe too sweet? It looked pretty though, cut-up jewel-tone gumdrops in white fudge

:laugh:
I don't know what it is with me and post titles...I just don't think about "other stuff" when I make post titles. blah! ...the shoot, shovel and shut up kind of clued me in, lol.

:bigsmile:

Weeell, let's put it this way. When the thread popped up in the newsfeed for a friend, because I replied to it, the suggestion was "Lye?" Others have had the same merriment going on, so thanks for not thinking

My husband suggests the wood chipper.

ETA: Reminds me of my first attempt at roasting the Thanksgiving turkey when newly married. I didn't know there was a bag of giblets in a turkey until my new husband carved my beautifully browned, roasted turkey...and found the giblets, still safe and sound in the bag, stuffed in the body cavity of the turkey, along with the stuffing.

This made me smile. My bride did the same thing. I laughed, she started to cry. I explained it was all good and we had a wonderful first thanksgiving. That was in 1982. Then she attempted to throw out the carcass after the meal. NOOOOO!!!! That is for soup I said. I taught, she learned. Her Turkey noodle soup is amazing.