So what's your favorite thing to do with leftover turkey?

Fran

Former desparate mom
Do any of you have something interesting and yummy to use leftover turkey?
One of our favorites is turkey pot pie. One is with rice and mushrooms and the other is just a traditional pot pie.
I use the refrigerated pie crusts to cut down on work. It's easy and every one seems to love hiding the taste of leftover turkey.

Any other good ideas?
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
In no particular order...
- Turkey soup
- As a pizza topping for homemade mini pizzas
- Chopped into big chunks in a salad, with balsamic vinegar dressing
- Reheated, along with potatoes, stuffing and whatever else is left over from the big turkey dinner
- Turkey stew (same recipe as the soup, but the veg in bigger chunks and with much less liquid)
- Turkey sandwiches

That's all I can think of at the moment...

Yum!

(I'm jealous. With Canadian Thanksgiving long gone, I don't have any leftover turkey left)
 

klmno

Active Member
Another for the sandwiches. We have them at home, I take them to work, REAL turkey sandwiches are good- I can't stand the type of turkey sandwich meat that comes from a store, I think it has no flavor. I've been known to freeze leftover turkey, too.
 

meowbunny

New Member
Make a couple of sandwiches. Hope I can foist a lot of it off on neighbors. Honestly, my favorite thing is to toss it in the garbage.
 

mom_to_3

Active Member
snicker, snicker! I'm with meow bunny, I don't care to eat turkey more than the day it was cooked. Fortunately for me, we go to my parents house (we all contribute and cook and clean up) so I don't have to deal with any left overs unless I want something. Turkey is not one of those things. My parents can not waste even the tiniest amount of anything, so they will eat turkey sometimes for a week. Ewwwww!
 

klmno

Active Member
MB- you just aren't into this holiday thing, are you? Well, do you have a glass of wine and relax, at least??
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Make a couple of sandwiches. Hope I can foist a lot of it off on neighbors. Honestly, my favorite thing is to toss it in the garbage.

:rofl: Haa haaa haaaa, MB, I am so with you on that! I hate having the carcass around. My ex-sister in law used to freezer hers and then serve up turkey soup sometime in April the following year!! Ew.

I do like sandwiches the very next day, but after that, I can wait another year to see a turkey (except the ones in my yard!).
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Sandwiches for sure :) And we have reruns of Thanksgiving dinner as long as the side dishes hold out. For me personally, once I'm out of my homemade gravy, then I start looking for other ways to serve it. When we get down to the bare bones that are hardly worth picking, once in a blue moon I'll make stock for soup. But the last few years I've been too busy and the carcass gets chucked. Since the wildfire came through last weekend, I'm tempted to toss it down the hill for the coyotes to enjoy :D
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Anyone with a back yard full of cats like I do doesn't have to worry about what to do with a turkey carcass! I'll be eating turkey right through Christmas because the smallest one I could find was 14 pounds - for two of us!

I love to make the pot pies, with the pre-made crusts it's so easy. And when it's down to just a little, I make stock out of what's left and the bones, add some rice to the broth, sometimes mushrooms, and the turkey meat. I can never finish all of it though before I get sick of it. My big thing to do with leftover meat is put it in a salad. If it's just me, I buy one of those salad 'kits', either Ranch or Caeser, and just put the meat on the top. They come with the dressing, croutons, cheese, etc. It makes a good, quick dinner and it's super cheap!
 

Andy

Active Member
Meow Bunny, I'll meet you at the garbage can! I can't stand leftovers. I also will not eat cold meat. So, if we are home, leftovers for supper and then whatever husband and the kids don't eat within a few days get tossed.
 

goldenguru

Active Member
Hot turkey sandwiches with-leftover turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Comfort food at it's finest.

I take it off the carcass of freeze in individual freezer bags. Easy to pull out, and use for whatever.

One of my favorite uses is to throw it into a cold macaroni salad. I don't really use a recipe TiredMommy. Just pasta, veggies, hard boiled eggs, turkey, mayo/dill weed and seasoning to taste. Serve with- a loaf of homemade bread. Yummy.
 

KateM

Member
Fran, you posted a recipe a few years ago that used up alot of Thanksgiving leftovers. If you hadn't vouched for its tastiness, I wouldn't have tried it, because , frankly, it sounded terrible! But now we have this each year; it's delicious!

Here it is:

Melt 2 T butter and brush it on the bottom of a 9X9 pan. Then layer these ingredients, squishing down after each layer and ending with potatoes :stuffing,cranberry sauce, shredded turkey warmed gravy, warmed potatoes.Place pan on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 until potatoes are golden brown.Enjoy!
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Kate, I actually forgot about that one. Thanks for the reminder.

Turkey Pot Pie
1 pkg(10oz) frozen peas and carrots
1/3 margarine or butter
1/3 c flour
1/3 c chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
1 3/4 c chicken broth
2/3 c milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups cut up turkey
Pastry

Rinse frozen peas and carrots in cold water to separate, then drain. Heat margarine in 2 qt saucepan over medication. heat until melted. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 min. Stir in chicken and vegetables.

Heat oven in 425degrees. Prepare Pastry. Roll pastry into a 13 in square. Ease into an ungreased square pan, 9x9x2. Pour chicken mixture into pastry. Roll remaining pastry into a 11 in square. Place square over filling. Turn edges under and flute. Bake about 35 min. until golden brown.

===
I have a Turkey Rice casserole recipe that is good. I'll type it up a little later.
Hope you enjoy them. I can't stand to waste food so this makes meals that everyone enjoys.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Turkey soup

NOTE 1: I'm scared of carcasses, so I cheat and use prepared chicken stock. If you don't have carcass-phobia, go ahead and boil it and do whatever you have to for the stock.

NOTE 2: I tend to be pretty random about measurements. I cook based on the size of the container, not by any specific measurements.

Ingredients:
1) whatever leftover turkey meat you have hanging around. I tend to prefer really finely shredded, but whatever works for you.
2) carrots, chopped into small cubes
3) celery, chopped into small cubes
4) frozen peas
5) frozen corn
6) other vegetables if you like them and you feel like putting them in your soup
7) orzo pasta (you know, the kind that looks like little grains of rice)
8) Chicken stock or turkey stock
9) onions, diced.

Take a big pot. I usually use a very large Dutch oven. Not sure of the capacity, but Little easy child can sit in it, with his legs hanging over the side, so you get the idea.

1. Warm the pan.
2. When a drop of water sizzles in the bottom, add a splash of oil
3. Throw in the onions. Cook them on medication-high until they start to glaze
4. Throw in the carrots, celery, and any other "hard" vegetables you are adding. Cook until they start to get tender, then cook for a few more minutes.
Throw in the frozen corn and peas. Cook until they're starting to thaw.
5. Add the turkey, and stir it aronud in the veg and juices until everything is well blended.
6. Add the chicken stock or turkey stock. Enough that your pot is 3/4 full.
7. Add the pasta. I use about a cup, give or take. You don't want to add so much that it absorbs all of the liquid from the soup. Just enough to have noodles in your noodle soup.
8. Bring just to a boil, then turn down the heat.
9. Cover the pot and simmer until it smells right. You can simmer for an hour or all day. I find it tastes better when you've let it sit for at least a few hours, but it depends on how hungry you are.

Whenever you're ready, serve and eat.

Sorry I couldn't be more precise with the measurements, but as I mentioned, my cooking "style" is pretty random.

Trinity
 
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