Here in the States, I use the leftovers from Thanksgiving as creatively as possible. To creatively using turkey, after the holiday, I often meal fixings on sale. I have often purchased turkeys, hams, and the like at a discount. Today, we’ll discuss how I have used the leftovers from Thanksgiving, especially turkey leftovers.
Who enjoys eating sliced turkey sandwiches after the holiday meal? For one or two meals that is. After that, turkey can be used in other ways as well.
Use refrigerated turkey within 2-3 days. If you don’t expect to use turkey within that length of time, chop, dice, or shred turkey. Next, place the turkey in meal-sized bags in the freezer for future meals during the next month or so. Here are a few ideas on how to use those leftovers in ways that don’t seem like leftovers!
Turkey Salad
There’s more to do with turkey leftovers than just making boring sandwiches! Instead, make a turkey salad that uses the turkey, but cranberries and other ingredients from the Thanksgiving meal as well.
Here’s my recipe for turkey salad. Turkey salad can be eaten as a salad or as a sandwich filling. This is a fantastic way to use these ingredients that may already be in your pantry.
Start by cutting cooked turkey into cubes or by shredding them. Put the turkey in a mixing bowl.. Chop some celery and add to turkey.
Now add dried cranberries, fresh or dried into the bowl. Add mayonnaise, sour cream to the salad. You can also add some Dijon mustard for added seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste.
Turkey Tetrazzini
1 (8 ounce) package cooked Egg Noodles
2 tablespoons Butter
1 6 ounce can sliced Mushrooms
2 cups cooked chopped Turkey
2 cups leftover turkey gravy
1 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Salt
0.12 teaspoon Pepper
¼ cup dried Parmesan cheese or ½ freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all of the ingredients except cheese and pour into a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top of the mixture in the pan. Bake until hot and bubbly. Serve hot.
Turkey Pot Pie
2 cups Turkey Gravy
1 cup chopped diced turkey
One peeled and cubed potato
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
9 frozen, unbaked baking powder biscuits
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the first 4 ingredients together and salt and pepper to taste. Butter a 9×9 inch baking pan 0.23 x 0.23 meters). Put the mixture in the pan and place biscuits in square in pan. Bake until biscuits are completely done.
Frozen Turkey Dinners
Take a chunk of turkey, a dollop of potatoes, a dollop of turkey dressing and cover this with leftover turkey gravy. Add a side of sweet potatoes in a separate section of the dish if possible. Now you have a turkey dinner! Cover with freezer-safe plastic and store in the freezer until you use them. We heat these in a microwave whenever we want a quick and easy meal in the evening. We used to make these all the time when we were kids but instead of using the microwave, we reheated the dinners in the oven.
Making and Canning Turkey Broth
Don’t let those bones and that turkey skin go to waste! You can turn that into broth for making soup during those cold winter days. Put bones and skins into a pot along with onion skins and pieces of discarded celery with the leaves. Add several garlic cloves and other spices you like to your turkey broth. Cover bones, skin, and vegetables with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer this mixture for several hours. Add water if necessary during that time. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully remove big pieces of bones, skin, and vegetable pieces. Allow the mixture to cool enough so you can refrigerate it. Cool it long enough in the refrigerator for the fat to congeal on top. Remove excess fat. Save fat to add flavor in other poultry dishes. Reheat the broth enough so that you can strain the liquid from any small bones or vegetable scraps.
Once the broth is strained, you can put it in containers and place in the freezer and save to use in soups or any dish that requires poultry broth. You could also do what I do and can it. Pour the liquid in sterilized jars. Cover the jars with sterilized lids and rings and pressure can for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.
Canning Excess Turkey
If you don’t have room in your freezer, but you still have leftover turkey, process it for long-term storage in your canner (bottler). Pack a sterilized pint jar (a half liter) with leftover turkey and cover with turkey broth. Cover with a sterilized jar lid and ring. Pressure can for 75 minutes in the pressure canner.
As you can see, there’s no reason to waste your holiday turkey and fixings! Planning to use your leftovers in creative ways will not only create delicious meals but will also save you money because you’re not letting anything go to waste!
Gourmet Weeds
Are you looking for a Christmas gift for a special someone? Gourmet Weeds is a cookbook about weeds in your backyard. You probably have them in your backyard and don’t even know they are edible!
The Perpetual Homesteader 