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CA Lori's question brought up another question - what do you do with your leftover turkey?

I cooked a turkey breast yesterday for the 2 of us and now have a boat load of leftover turkey. Mother would try to put it into all the recipes that you would use for chicken. I really disliked most of her efforts. Mother was a wonderful cook but turkey doesn't taste like chicken so the flavors of the dishes was off.

So what are some original uses for turkey? Other than freezing the other breast for another day.

Turkey pot pie, turkey soup, enchiladas, turkey salad, turkey bolognese, pizza.

Firstly, we love turkey sandwiches but after that, I do pretty traditional things with my turkey like tetrazzini, ala king. Any stuffing leftover put in a casserole, put turkey over it and pour the leftover gravy on top and bake.

Any dish that calls for chicken you can sub turkey.

Martha

Turkey pizza -

lol - I've not tried it, but I just can't eat pizza with chicken.

Martha - my mother said the same thing - but so so wrong. She made many similar dishes - substituting turkey for chicken and I really didn't like the taste of any of them.

I think of all the suggestions you gave adding cubed turkey to leftover dressing, adding some gravy and baking doesn't sound too bad.

I really like this turkey salad. It is a little different.


Turkey Salad

2 cup cooked rice, cold
1 1/2 cup cooked turkey, cubed
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
4 oz can diced green chiles, undrained
2 tablespoons snipped parsley or cilantro
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Mix all together and chill.

Q. What's the definition of eternity?
A. Two people and a Thanksgiving turkey.

This is why I don't make a turkey for Thanksgiving when it's just the two of us.

OTOH, some of those leftover ideas sound mighty tasty.

My family LOVES left-over turkey. We eat many sandwiches, and I make turkey pot pie, turkey with noodles, turkey soup with rice and lots of vegetables. I take what's left, grind it in my meat grinder and add Miracle whip and eat it on crackers or in another sandwich.

Around here the Saturday after Thanksgiving Tettrazini is more looked forward to than the actual Thanksgiving dinner!!. I make that, and a couple hot turkey sandwiches with mashed potato cakes on Friday night. The rest goes into soups, and the freezer.

Charming, have you tried chicken with barbecue sauce pizza? It's very good and I bed it would work with turkey, too. Just do the crust, add the sauce and sprinkle the chicken/turkey over it. You can add maybe some slivered onions or whatever else you would want, and then a bit of cheese but not a ton. Bake as usual.

I can't remember the name of the restaurant where I had this the first time.

Here's a link to the California Pizza Kitchen recipe for it.

http://www.topsecretrecipes.co...en-Pizza-Recipe.html

Ages ago, when I worked for a Stouffers restuarant, I still recall a dish I absolutely LOVED. It was similar to the following, but had sliced turkey atop the bread. It was a yummy, hot, open faced sandwich.

http://www.stouffers.com/meal-...detail.aspx?id=28444

Cooked/cooled turkey is also yummy added to mixed greens in a salad or made into turkey salad. Much like my chicken salad, I add chopped celery, a bit of chopped onions, dried cherries or cranberries and nuts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Froo Froo,

Here's another vote for turkey soup. So easy to do, and so welcomed at this time of the year.

quote:

Originally posted by aychihuahua:
Q. What's the definition of eternity?
A. Two people and a Thanksgiving turkey.

This is why I don't make a turkey for Thanksgiving when it's just the two of us.

OTOH, some of those leftover ideas sound mighty tasty.

LOL...we usually bake a fresh 'Old Hen'; not so big and much tastier!

BTW, DH and I enjoy turkey breast all through the year and leftovers are equally enjoyed.

A recipe that we have enjoyed for years....
I think it originally came from pepperidge farm.

Turkey 'N Stuffing Bake
1/2 C butter
1 1/4 C boiling water
3 1/2 C seasoned stuffing crumbs***
***three cups of leftover stuffing can be substituted for the above 3 ingredients.
1 can FF onion rings (small can)
1 can condensed crm of celery soup
3/4 C milk
1 1/2 C cubed cooked turkey
1 - 10oz. pkg. frozen peas, thawed

Combine butter & water, stir until butter is melted. Pour over seasoned crumbs, toss lightly. Stir in 1/2 can of FF onions. Spoon stuffing mixture int a 9" shallow baking dish (1 1/2qt.) Press stuffing across the bottom & up the sides to form a shell.
Combine soup, milk, turkey & peas. Pour into stuffing shell. Bake covered at 350º for 30 min. Top with remaining onions & bake uncovered 5 min. or longer...until nicely browned.

Just a little note here. If the peas haven't been thawed, it will take about 10-20 min. longer for the center mixture to heat properly....learned that the hard way!

Freeze it in meal-size portions.

I serve a big crowd at Thanksgiving so I don't usually have much leftover, but I try to have enough to make a turkey soup.

The recipe I tried last night was very similar to ga-Karen's that came out really good - the turkey flavor was muted by the ingredients.

It was based on a recipe in the Southern Ladies Know How to Cook it recipe book.

They made their's from fresh cornbread. If you have left over dressing you could use it and cut out a few steps.

But here is what I ended up with:
1 box Cornbread stuffing mix
2 cups cubed turkey
Turkey broth (simmer with onions and celery)
2 eggs - beaten
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Lightly combine ingredients adding cooked onions and celery. Add broth to make a moist dressing. Pour in baking pan - bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until it begins to brown.

Serve with left over gravy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,