Turkey Time! Part 3

 

Here's the last recipe I found this year to use up my turkey leftovers. It was really great! Plus, since my kids liked it, it's a winner in my book.

Turkey a la King with Rice

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 3/4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 celery rib, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fat-free milk
2 cups cubed cooked turkey breast
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, celery, onion, and pepper; cook and stir until tender.

In a small bowl, mix flour and broth until smooth; stir into vegetable mixture. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add turkey, peas, and salt; heat through. Serve with rice.

Yield: 4 servings.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: I loved this. I loved that it was so different than Thanksgiving dinner. I loved the freshness that the peas and mushrooms brought to it. It was delicious served over rice. This recipe is a keeper.

Turkey Time! Part 2

Here is another great recipe to help you use up your turkey leftovers.

Turkey Fettuccine Skillet

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups fat-free milk
1 teaspoon salt-free seasoning blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups cubed cooked turkey breast
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, saute onion, celery, and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Stir in the milk, seasoning blend, and salt. Bring to a boil.

Combine cornstarch and half-and-half until smooth; stir into skillet. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in Parmesan cheese just until melted.

Stir in turkey. Drain fettuccine; add to turkey mixture. Heat through. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 cup equals 361 calories, 7 g fat, 76 mg cholesterol, 343 mg sodium, 38 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 34 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: By the time I made this, I only had dark turkey meat left in my leftovers. It worked, but it would have been much better with turkey breast meat. I also didn't do the broiling step. I just didn't feel like it was necessary. Rather than using mozzarella (which I discovered that I was actually out of at the last minute), I sprinkled the top with additional Parmesan cheese. Since it was a little monotone in color (mostly brown and white), I decided to sprinkle the top with some chopped Italian parsley. It was really a nice addition. Not only did it look pretty, but it added a bright and fresh aspect to the dish. All in all, this recipe is a keeper and definitely a great way to use up your turkey leftovers.

 

Above: Here it is sprinkled with only Parmesan, and without the Italian Parsley.

Turkey Time! Part 1

 

So, perhaps you made a turkey for Christmas and perhaps after also having a turkey for Thanksgiving, you have a lot of leftovers. Or perhaps you just like turkey and want to make something with turkey in it at any time of the year. In my case, I made turkey for Thanksgiving and bought another turkey to make for Christmas, but since I was so sick over Christmas, I did it a little later. It was a big turkey with a lot of leftovers, and for whatever reason, my turkey sandwich loving family wasn't really in the mood for turkey sandwiches. So, I hunted down a few recipes that helped me use up my turkey leftovers. All of these recipes were paired with mushrooms, so if you don't like mushrooms, you probably won't like these recipes. However, since I do, I thought they were quite good. Here's the first recipe.

 

Turkey Mushroom Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

1/2 pound uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (12 ounces) fat-free evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey breast
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
Dash pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

In a large saucepan, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Combine cornstarch and broth until smooth; stir into the onion mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat to low. Add milk; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spaghetti, turkey, mushrooms, seasoned salt and pepper. 

Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 1/4 cups equals 331 calories, 5 g fat, 51 mg cholesterol, 544 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 28 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here. 

Notes: This was good. My boys gobbled it up, which is always a plus for me. I have two different flavors of seasoned salt and I was on the fence as to which one to use. Afterward, I wasn't sure if I had used the right one, but when I had the leftovers, it was fantastic. You could also use a dry Italian dressing seasoning packet in place of the seasoned salt and it would taste great (1/2 a packet for the recipe as is, or a whole packet if you double the recipe).

I doubled this and it made a ton, so I split it in half and shared some with a neighbor who was in need. 

Leftovers Revamped

 

I make a big batch of Cafe Rio pork at least once a year, usually on or around Cinco de Mayo. We originally posted it here. We use the leftovers to make Cafe Rio inspired salads, enchiladas, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, etc. You name it. This time though, I had a ton of extra pork. I then ran across this recipe and figured that it would be the perfect way to use up the remainder of my leftover pulled pork.

Pulled Pork Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:

1 can 911 oz) Green Giant SteamCrisp chipotle white corn or Green Giant Niblets whole kernel sweet corn, drained
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chiles, drained
12 corn tortillas
1 package (12 oz) refrigerated hickory smoked seasoned pulled pork (or leftover Cafe Rio pork)
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso mild green chile enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In small bowl, mix corn and chiles; set aside. In baking dish, layer 4 tortillas, half each of the pork, corn mixture, sour cream, enchlada sauce, and 1/2 cup of the cheese; repeat layering once. Layer with remaining tortillas; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Cover; bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.

Source: Pillsbury. You can find it here.

Notes: In the future, I might mix the sour cream with the corn and chile mixture rather than doing a separate layer. On the website, people complained about this recipe being a little dry. However, I had no problems with that at all. Perhaps this is because my meat was still quite juicy. We really liked this. I would suggest topping this with some chopped cilantro and serving it with your favorite kind of beans and Mexican rice.

Turkey Leftovers

Well, after all of the holiday eating, my husband and I decided we could use more soup in our lives. We made a turkey for Christmas, and I had a ton leftover, so I made my own turkey noodle soup. It turned out great. The recipe is below!

Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves (or 1-2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic)
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
4 cans (or between 7 and 8 cups) chicken broth
2-3 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook about 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to get soft. Add garlic. Cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add celery and carrot and cook  for about 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook according to package directions for al dente (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and add turkey, and salt and pepper to taste.

Source: I made this recipe up using what I had on hand. I wondered if I should add some herbs, spices, or seasoning salt and I decided that I would wait until the soup was finished and taste it to see if it needed anything else. I thought it was great just the way it was, so I didn't add anything extra. However, you easily could add your favorite herbs, spices, or seasonings.

As for the noodles, I used 3 cups of uncooked egg noodles. I would start with 2 cups and see if that looks like enough noodles to you. If not, add another cup!