Temptingly Tasty Turkey Leftovers

I know that all of my North American friends are cooking their Thanksgiving turkey's today.  I am also cooking a turkey Thanksgiving Dinner this year.   Tomorrow our fridges will be filled with all of the leftovers and we will be scratching our heads and trying to come up with new and interesting things to do with them.  Here are some tasty ideas this morning to help you use up some of those scrummy leftovers. Of course you could just have a reheat of the leftovers, but it's also nice to dress them up in a few different ways too!

You Brits and Canucks might want to bookmark this page as Christmas is less than a month away and you 'll be wanting to figure out what to do with your Christmas Turkey leftovers then!


 

Of course you can have a plain old turkey sandwich, but why not dress it up a bit and serve it open faced on a rustic piece of bread, topped with some leftover cranberry sauce, some of the leftover stuffing heated and crumbled on top of the cranberry, then the heated sliced turkey and some heated leftover gravy ladled over top. Delicious with a few sliced pickles and some potato crisps on the side! 

My mom always made Turkey Pot pies.  We loved them! You can follow the  outlined recipe below, which is only a rough guideline of what to do. You can adapt it to whatever it is you have in your fridge. 

 

*Turkey Pot Pie*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe




2 mugs full of leftover turkey, chopped
2 mugs full of leftover cooked vegetables, chopped
(peas, carrots, corn)  If you haven't got any, then you can
use 2 mugs of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
a handful of roasted potatoes, chopped
1 mug full of leftover turkey gravy
1 mug full of milk
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp summer savoury
salt and black pepper to taste
Pastry to cover
milk and beaten egg yolk



Mix together all the ingredients except for the pastry in a large bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and black pepper.  Spread into a large round, or oval shallow casserole dish.  Roll out your pastry to cover and place over top, venting to allow steam to escape.  Brush with a bit of milk and beaten egg yolk.  Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes in an oven which has been preheated to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Serve warm. 

I think one of the most popular things to do over here in the UK with the leftover turkey is to make a Turkey Curry, but how about Curried Turkey Salad! Yummo!! 

 

*Curried Turkey Salad*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe

This is a very delicious salad.

2 cups of leftover cooked turkey, cut into cubes

olive oil
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise (330g)
1/3 cup dry white wine (80ml)
1/4 cup mango chutney (55g)
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 large celery ribs, medium diced
1/4 cup chopped spring onions (2 spring onions)
1/4 cup raisins (37g)
1 cup whole roasted salted cashews (150g)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Combine the turkey with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, spring onions and  raisins. Mix well together. Cover and chill for several hours to let the flavors blend. Add the cashews and serve.  

  

*Turkey and Stuffing Pie*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe

This may not look like much, but this is absolutly delicious!

2 celery ribs, trimmed and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 TBS butter
8 ounces stuffing crumbs, or crushed croutons (2 cups)
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp marjoram
pinch ground nutmeg
1 TBS parsley flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
1 large free range egg, beaten
375ml of warm chicken broth (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups of chopped cooked turkey
To serve:
Creamed peas and carrots (optional)

Melt the butter in a frying pan.  Add the onion and celery.  Saute without colouring until soft, stirring frequently.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 9 inch pie dish.  Set aside.

Tip the bread crumbs into a bowl along with the sage, thyme, marjoram, nutmeg and parsley flakes.  Mix together well.  Stir in the broth, beaten egg and sauteed vegetables.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the turkey.  Mix well.  Spread this mixture into the buttered pie dish.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and lightly browned.

Serve cut into wedges along with some creamed peas and carrots spooned over top if desired.  A tossed salad goes very well with this.

 

   

*Creamed Peas and Carrots*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

Delicous served over crackers, biscuits, toast, fish cakes or my tasty Stuffing Pie. 

2 TBS butter
2 TBS plain flour
1 pint of milk
salt and pepper to taste
cooked peas and carrots to taste
(I like a larger ratio of sauce to veg, but some people like more veg than sauce)

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in the flour.  Slowly whisk in the milk.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened.  Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for about five minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the vegetables and heat through.  

 

  

A delicious leftover Turkey Casserole never goes amiss.  This one is a bit different than other casseroles.  It's kind of like a Turkey Cottage pie!   You have delicious layers of  turkey, mash, stuffing and a few other tasty bits!

  

*Turkey Casserole*
Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetites
Printable Recipe

A delicious casserole which is easy to put together and helps to use up leftovers from your roast dinners.

4 cups of prepared stuffing, divided
4 cups of coarsely chopped leftover cooked turkey (about one pound)
3/4 cup of good quality mayonnaise, divided
1/4 cup of whole berry cranberry sauce
2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese  

 

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/   Butter an 8 inch square casserole dish.    Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the bottom of the dish and spread it out to cover.   Sprinkle with the turkey pieces.   Whisk together 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise and all of the cranberry sauce.   Spread this mixture over top of the turkey.   Beat together the remaining mayonnaise, the mashed potatoes and the  mozzarella cheese.   Spoon this over top of the turkey, spreading it over to cover.   Sprinkle the remaining stuffing over top.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until bubbling and heated through.   Allow to stand for 10 minutes or so before serving.   Delicious!  

Here's another delicious Turkey Oven Bake.

  

*Turkey Oven Bake*

Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious casserole that is very easily thrown together. A real family pleaser!!

one heaped mug of long grain rice

3 mugs of cooked turkey, chopped

2 mugs of cooked chopped broccoli

1 tin of condensed cream of chicken soup (batchelors, or campbells)

375ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)

250ml of chicken broth (1 cup)

2 dessert spoons of mayonnaise (about half a cup)

2 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped

1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped

8 ounces of strong cheddar cheese, grated

salt and black pepper to taste

crushed round buttery crackers, about a handful    

 

  

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Stir together the rice, turkey, broccoli, soup, milk, broth, mayonnaise, onion and celery in a bowl. Add half of the cheese and stir again. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with some foil.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the casserole is bubbling. Remove from the oven, top with the remaining cheese and crushed crackers. Bake for a further about 10 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted on top and it is lightly browned. Serve hot.  

Salads are always nice, especially when it's as tasty as this delicious Turkey Cobb Salad!  

  

*Turkey Cobb Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a delicious salad which contains no less than 3 of the super foods!! Turkey breast, avocado and tomatoes! Bacon and cheese aside, I reckon it is pretty good for you!

2 TBS white wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 TBS good quality mayonnaise
4 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
8 slices of thick cut bacon
1 head of iceberg lettuce, cored and thinly sliced
2 small avocados, peeled, stoned and cubed
4 small plum tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces cubed turkey breast (1/2 pound)

First make the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, oil and a pinch of pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in a quarter of the cheese.

Fry the bacon in a heavy frying pan over medium heat until crisp. Drain well on paper towels, then crumble.

Add the lettuce to the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the lettuce amongst 4 chilled plates. Arrange the avocados, tomatoes and turkey on top. Sprinkle with the bacon and the remaining cheese and serve.    

I will end with my personal favourite!  Hot Turkey Poutine!  What you have here is hot chips (french fries) . . . you can make your own from scratch, or you can use a good oven chip . . . topped with two scoops of poultry stuffing, and some chunks of roasted turkey . . . slathered in hot turkey gravy . . . and then doused with a combination of both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.  With a side of cranberry sauce, there is absolutely nothing not to love about this wicked indulgence!  

  

*Hot Turkey Poutine*

Serves 4  

Printable Recipe

It's your favourite sandwich, but it's not a sandwich.  It's poutine!  Chips, cheese, gravy, stuffing and turkey!  This is soooo good, I often just buy a small turkey breast roast to cook just so we can have it.  Why wait for Christmas and Thanksgiving!  


1 family sized bag of oven chips (I like the Aunt Bessies Gorgeous ones, because well,
they're gorgeous!) 2 cups of leftover turkey, cut into chunks leftover turkey gravy (or from a turkey gravy mix)

4 ounces grated cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)

4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup

leftover stuffing (Or you can use my recipe, see next)

Cook your oven chips according to package directions. Mix the cheeses together.  Heat your turkey, and your gravy.   I take the stuffing and I stick it into the oven with the chips for the last 10 minutes, then it is nice and hot.  Divide your chips amongst 4 hot plates.  Top each with a quantity of stuffing,  Scatter with the turkey chunks.  Spoon the hot gravy over all and scatter on the cheese.  The hot gravy will melt the cheese and everybody's happy!   Serve immediately, with or without cranberry sauce!

Happy Turkey Day!