6 Recipe Ideas for Leftover Turkey

Thanksgiving is over. You're completely stuffed and you've eaten all the turkey sandwiches you can handle. Now what? Here are 6 recipe ideas to use up some of that leftover turkey!

 Cream of Turkey Soup 

Turkey Orzo Soup

Turkey Tarragon Soup

Baked Turkey & Wasabi Mashed Potato Croquettes

Sun Dried Tomato Turkey Salad

Waldorf Chicken Salad 

(you can substitute turkey)

What do you like to make with your leftover turkey? 

Hearty Beef Noodle Soup

I never get tired of soup and like a variety. My husband loves it as well and asked me to make a Beef Noodle Soup a while ago, but I only tend to make this kind of soup if I have leftover beef from a roast or steak.  To me, it just seems to be a waste of time to go through the of trouble cooking the meat just to put it in the soup alone. 

For this particular soup, I used some leftover london broil. We don't do much outside grilling here in NJ between November-February as it's usually too cold or snowing. However, this year has been odd with warm days in the upper 50's followed by a snow storm or temperatures in the teens the next. So this soup came at the perfect time! 

If you have extra soup, don't worry! Here are some tips on how to store it. 
1. Allow the soup to cool completely before refrigerating or freezing. 
2. If you are going to be eating it within a few days: Divide the cooled soup into shallow, air tight containers; then cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. 
3. If you want to freeze the soup: Divide the cooled soup into shallow, air tight, freezer safe containers leaving a 1/2" space between the top of the soup and the rim of the container. This will allow room for the soup to expand while frozen without the lid coming off. You can freeze soup for up to 3 months. Also, do not freeze soup that has been thickened with cornstarch or flour. Leave it out and add it once defrosted and reheated. By freezing soup with thickener, it changes the consistency and thickening capacity causing it to look congealed. 

Hearty Beef Noodle Soup
1 c. Carrots, sliced
1/2 c. Red Onion, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 tbsp. Canola Oil
2 c. Cooked Beef, diced
4 c. Low Sodium Beef Broth
4 c. Water
3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 c. Egg Noodles, dry

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and add in the carrots, onion and celery. 
2. Saute until the vegetables start to soften, then add in the beef, beef broth, water, and thyme. 
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 45 minutes, then add in the egg noodles and simmer for another 15 minutes. Makes 6 cups. 

*Nutritional Information per Cup: Calories 167, Carbs 12.7g, Fat 6.6g, Protein 13.6g, Fiber 1.5g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate. 

Enjoy! 

Cream of Turkey Soup (Reduced Fat)

Since this is the week before Thanksgiving, I've decided to share a new recipe each day to give you some more options for the biggest feast day of the year here in the US.

Today I'm starting with soup. Now technically, this would make the perfect soup to make using leftover turkey the day or so following the holiday, but it would also taste great as a starter as well. It's so easy to make and takes less than an hour to prepare. You can also make this up to 2 days ahead so it will safe you time the day of. I don't like to use a lot of heavy cream in my cooking, but if you prefer a richer tasting soup, by all means substitute heavy cream or half and half for the reduced fat milk. 

Cream of Turkey Soup (Reduced Fat)

1/4 c. Carrots, sliced

2 tbsp. Red Onions, chopped
1 Celery Stalk, chopped
1 tbsp. Butter
2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
2 c. Turkey, diced
4 c. Fat Free Chicken Broth
2 c. Water
1 c. Milk (I used 2% but you can also use what you prefer)
Cornstarch + Cold Water, equal parts if needed to thicken
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a large pot and add in the carrots, onions and celery. 
2. Allow to soften approximately 3-5 minutes; then stir in the flour. 
3. Add the turkey, chicken broth and water; stir well. 
4. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for 30 minutes. 
5. Use your immersion blender* to blend all of the ingredients together until it is smooth. 
6. Heat the milk over medium heat, then add it to the soup. Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.  
7. If the soup isn't thick enough, combine equal parts cornstarch and cold water; then add it to the mixture and simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 6 cups. 

*If you do not have an immersion blender, pour the mixture into a regular blender and puree until smooth. Just be very careful not to fill it too much to the top as it will be extremely hot and you don't want to pop the lid off of your blender.

*Nutritional Information per Cup(2% milk): Calories 41 , Carbs 3.7g, Fat 1.9g, Protein 1.7g, Fiber .4g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate.

Enjoy! 

Thanksgiving Tip
Allow approximately 5 days to defrost a 20lb. frozen turkey in your refrigerator. If you don't have that much time, place the turkey (still in its wrapper) in a sink, cooler or I've even heard of someone putting it in their bathtub (CLEAN and disinfected first of course!). Cover the turkey with cold water and change the water every 30 minutes. It will take approximately 10 hours to defrost a 20 lb. frozen turkey. 




Shared at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen 11/19/12

Chicken & Spinach Balsamic Risotto

Since I finally used up that Vanilla Fig Balsamic Vinegar, I wanted to find a new kind of vinegar to experiment with and happened across one with Pear Pulp. I happened to make this dish on Monday night, which coincidentally happened to be Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day...and that I did! I had two pieces of chicken, a partial bag of fresh spinach, a few scallions, a little rosemary and Voila..dinner! This meal was so delicious and the girls and I really loved the flavor of this vinegar in this risotto. 

Chicken & Spinach Balsamic Risotto
2 c. Cooked Chicken Breast, chopped
2 c. Fresh Spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
6 Mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. Scallions, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1 tsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped
2 Plum Tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp. Rienzi® Balsamic Vinegar with Pear Pulp
1 1/3 c. Arborio Rice
2 c. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 1/2 c. Water
1/4 c. DiGiorno® Three Cheese Blend (Asiago, Parmesan & Romano grated cheese)
1 tbsp. Butter


Heat oil in a large, nonstick frying pan and add the chicken, spinach, mushrooms, scallions, garlic, and rosemary. Simmer 5 minutes until the spinach starts to wilt and the mushrooms soften. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, add the rice, vinegar and 1 cup of the chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the liquid has evaporated. Add the remaining liquid one cup at a time, first the chicken broth and then the water, and simmer until that liquid has evaporated. On the last 1/2 cup of water, add back in your chicken, vegetables, tomatoes, cheese and butter. Stir until well blended and the butter has melted. Makes 6, 1-cup servings. 


Points+=9


Here is the information from Rienzi's website: 

Fruttati Pear 8.5oz
This unique blend is created by using the tradition that unites the prestigious Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and fresh fruits. The Fruttato with pear is the result of a slow cooking procedure where the balsamic vinegar is mixed with the pulp of pears grown in the Trentino region of Northern Italy. This high quality blend is a culinary classic and it adds a unique flavor to dishes such as Almond chicken, or as a dressing on string beans.


Enjoy!

Copycat Recipe Week: Day 3-Baked Potato Croquettes

Already Day 3 in this weeks series of posts and I don't know about you but I'm having so much fun trying out all of these great recipes!


Today's feature comes from Mia's Domain. I had made some mashed potatoes this past Sunday to go along with the Corned Beef I made and had some potatoes left over. I remembered seeing a post last week from Mia about Baked Potato Croquettes.  I had never made croquettes before so I was intrigued as to how I could make them baked instead of fried. I followed Mia's recipe with one change. I omitted the nutmeg and added in fresh rosemary (I had to give it my own little flair and I'm not a huge nutmeg fan). I also only had 2 cups of mashed potatoes left so I reduced her recipe to suit my needs. My original mashed potatoes contained russet potatoes, sour cream, 2% milk, butter, salt and pepper. These croquettes were so flavorful and DELICIOUS! Thanks for a great recipe Mia!

Baked Potato Croquettes
Adapted from Mia's Domain
2 c. Prepared Mashed Potatoes
1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Scallion, chopped
1 tbsp. Parsley
1 tsp. Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
1 c. Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Egg, beaten
Canola Oil Cooking Spray


Add the potatoes, cheese, scallions, parsley, rosemary and flour to a food processor and pulse until all ingredients have been incorporated.  Separate into six portions. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg. In another bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Shape a portion of potatoes into a flattened log. Then dip the potato mixture into the egg, and then into the breadcrumbs. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake until browned and crispy flipping halfway through cooking process(approx. 20 minutes). Let cool 5 minutes before serving so they have time to firm up again. Makes 6.


*The mashed potatoes should be leftover and refrigerated for at least 24 hours prior to making this recipe. 


Enjoy!

"Leftover" Wasabi Chicken Pot Pie

Well if you haven't already noticed, I made a slight adjustment to this blog. I finally sat down to figure out how to add categories so that if you're looking for a particular menu item, such as Sides or Vegetables, you can just click on the title and it will bring up all of the blog posts containing what you're looking for. I told you I was new at this blogging thing and I'll figure it all out eventually. I hope this helps!

And now for dinner...

Remember when I made the Tarragon and Lemon Roasted Chicken earlier this week? I had some leftover chicken from that meal. I purposely bought a roaster large enough so that I would have extra especially for this recipe. When shopping I found a new item I had never seen before called Golds Wasabi Sauce. It has the consistency of a horseradish sauce and it wasn't pure wasabi (that would have made this dish extremely hot!) but I figured I'd try it out and if nothing else, it might taste good with a turkey sandwich. I normally use Dijon mustard in this recipe and if you can't find this sauce, by all means use that instead. It wasn't spicy, as you might think, but gave it a little something extra. This dish is so quick to put together because everything is already cooked. In the past, I've even bought the frozen mixed vegetables to make it even easier. You can add or substitute any of these vegetables for ones that you may have or prefer. I even buy the pre-packaged refrigerated pie crust dough, but as you'll see below, I recommend par-baking the bottom shell before adding the filling so that the dough isn't raw from soaking up the juices. 

Wasabi Chicken Pot Pie

2-9” Ready to Bake Refrigerated Pie Crusts

2 Cups Cooked Chicken Breast, chopped

1 Cup Cooked Carrots, sliced

1 Cup Cooked Corn

2 Scallions, chopped

½ Cup Peas

2 Tbsp. Canola Oil

2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

3 Tbsp. Golds® Wasabi Sauce or 2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch

2 Tbsp. Cold Water

Line pie dish with one of the pie crusts, place entire dish on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. (You'll want to do this in case the filling bubbles over, so it won't cause a total mess in the bottom of your oven!) Remove from oven.

This is how the filling
should look prior to
adding the top crust.

In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat oil and add chicken, carrots, corn, scallions, and peas. Sauté for 5 minutes until all ingredients are heated through. Add chicken broth and wasabi sauce. In a small cup, mix together the cornstarch and cold water and add to the chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add entire mixture to the par-baked pie crust and top with remaining uncooked pie crust. Bake for another 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. 

Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serves 6.