Inevitably when the holiday meal is over there will be leftovers. Of all sorts, not just of turkey, but most especially of turkey if you are a smaller family. And honestly, a wise woman would make sure there are leftovers because it's so darned handy to have especially over the holiday weekend. I have a small file of recipes I absolutely love to make with leftover turkey, some simple and some a little more fussy and all of them good. But I'll also share a few other recipes for other things you might have leftover that I've learned works well.
But first, turkey!
I love Maxine's idea of bagging turkey in recipe portions right away after the meal. She's right. It's a huge help. I always make broth/soup and turkey salad. And then I'll get two or three other meals off the leftovers depending on how big a crowd I'd fed.
1. Turkey Broth: So let's strip that frame (Katie doesn't like the word carcass, so I've subbed in 'frame'). I usually include the wings and legs. No one in my family eats those. Put that and any broth from the pan right into a large slow cooker or big old stockpot and get it simmering. There will be meat left no matter how clean you think you've picked it. Put in the skin as well. It adds to the overall flavor of your broth.
You can leave this on low overnight and the remove the frame the next morning. When it's cool enough to touch, take the meat from the bones. I feed the skin and soft cartilage to my dog and cat. They love it and it's good for their old bones.
2. Turkey soup: You likely will end up with 3 or so cups of meat and about 6-8 quarts of broth. Half that broth and half the meat will make a lovely turkey soup.
Your choices are not limited to what I suggest. We love Turkey and Rice, Turkey and Noodles as our soups of choice, but you can also make a Creamy Turkey Wild Rice, a curried soup, a southwestern soup, a white chili...Whatever you'd typically make with chicken works just as well with turkey!
3. Turkey Salad: I like to use the rest of the boiled meat in turkey salad. I grew up eating it that way and that's the way I still make it. It is just so good as a filling for sandwiches. I keep it simple: boiled egg, pickle relish, mayonnaise and seasonings of salt and pepper and maybe a slight squeeze of mustard.
4. Turkey a la King: Mama always made this following a turkey dinner and we loved it. To a can of cream of mushroom soup, add 1 can of broth. Lightly cook a diced onion, chopped celery (about 1 large stalk). When the vegetables are soft, add in the soup, 2 cups of chopped cooked turkey (I often reduced this when we were straining the budget), a cup of green peas, 2 ounces of diced pimento or roasted red pepper. Season to taste with garlic, a dash of soy sauce, pepper and salt. Serve over rice. Top with sliced almonds or chopped green onions.
5. Turkey Tetrazzini: This is my favorite, I think. Cook 1 cup sliced mushrooms. Add one minced clove of garlic. Add two cups turkey, 1 can mushroom soup, 1 can broth, 8 ounces cooked spaghetti, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, a dash of cooking sherry (this is key to the flavor in my opinion), salt and pepper to taste. Mix all and put into a large casserole or 9 X 13 pan. Sprinkle grated parm or mozzarella over the top. Finish with dry breadcrumbs and pats of butter. Bake until hot and bubbly at 350F.
6. Turkey Strata: Start by dicing stale bread (use end pieces, or leftover rolls or loaf bread). You'll want at least four cups. 1-2 cups of turkey, chopped. 1/2 an onion and 1 rib celery diced, and 1/2 cup red bell pepper if you like, then cooked until the onion is just translucent. Mix the turkey, bread cubes, vegetables, 3 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 cups milk, a dash of dry mustard, salt and pepper, dash of Worcestershire sauce. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. This should fill a 9 in. pan. You can stop here and refrigerate overnight if you like. Bake at 350 F, allowing extra time for the dish to sit at room temperature (45 minutes) if you placed in the fridge before baking. Bake 50-60 minutes.
Now that's my list of favorite meals from leftover turkey. I didn't even mention Turkey Pot Pie or Curried Turkey or...never mind. There are loads of ways to use turkey!
7. Sandwiches: Of course, you can make sandwiches. I've already mentioned turkey salad. We like to slice turkey breast and save for sandwiches as well. In fact, that's why I'm baking my own turkey breast this year! John wants his turkey sandwiches.
We like to serve the sliced turkey with salt and pepper, mayo and mustard and sweet pickle slices (that's how I grew up eating the sandwiches). Over the years I've branched out a little. You can also use rolls to make slider sandwiches, filled with turkey, cranberry relish, Swiss cheese and baked with a buttery smear on the top of the rolls. You can use the same mixture in a Hoagie bun and serve the sandwich cold. So good!
8. Sweet Potatoes: Leftover sweet potatoes or sweet potato casseroles can be turned into something yummy. If you have plain sweet potatoes, so much the better. If you baked yours with toppings, then skim the topping off and use the remaining potatoes in the following ways:
Sweet Potato Biscuits: Just add 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes to biscuit dough. This is lovely as biscuits but you can roll it thinner and use to top a Turkey pot pie...YUM!
Sweet Potato Pie: Same as pumpkin, just substitute in the mashed sweet potatoes.
You can stir mashed sweet potatoes into chili, beef stew, or make into a lovely velvety soup with cream and broth...
9. Green Bean Casserole: Last year I had leftover green bean casserole, and I used the remainder up in a Cottage pie, putting the bean mixture on the bottom of the casserole and topping with the beef mixture. Also, can use leftover sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes on top. I used mashed potatoes. This was very tasty!
10. Dressing/Stuffing: I pack this into smaller portions (two person sized) and then freeze. Leftover stuffing thaws and reheats beautifully. So good to serve with a lovely thick pork chop or fried chicken.
11. Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potato pancakes. Cheesy Casserole Potatoes (mix with eggs and grated cheese, a bit of grated onion and pile into a casserole or muffin tins. The eggs will make them fluff up and become very light and airy). Top a Cottage Pie. Make into Gnocchi. Ooh! You could make sweet potato gnocchi, too! Homemade Pierogi. Stir into potato soup to make it feel velvety without the cream.
12: Cranberry Sauce: Use on a sandwich. Melt and drizzle over a plain cake layer. Top with whipped cream or powdered sugar. Make Catalina Chicken (1 packet onion soup mix, 1 cup cranberry sauce, 1 cup French or Catalina (or Russian) dressing. Mix with cocktail sauce and pour over little sausages for an appetizer or over meatballs (great to make Meatball sliders with for a meal). Use to glaze a ham or pork roast. Make a Cranberry Jello 'salad that's a nice side to any roasted pork or chicken. Fill a cored apple with a spoonful of cranberry sauce then bake. Serve with cream or whipped cream for dessert.
There you are! I've shared ideas for everything but desserts because most of those will freeze well. Cakes with buttercream frosting will freeze as will pies and cheesecakes. I've found it best to go ahead and slice the dessert item, then ease a bit of waxed paper down between slices so you can easily remove just enough without having to thaw the whole thing.
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