What to do with all your Turkey Day Leftovers?

Here is a recipe that takes most of your leftovers, and combines them into a Fritter.
Got it out of my local newspaper.
(My comment,--I dont know about the tomato salsa listed here)

Thanksgiving Fritters
1/2 C Cranberry sauce
1/2 C tomato salsa
2 C Mashed potatoes
1 C stuffing
1 C chopped cooked veggies
1 1/2 C chopped turker meat (or more)
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1/4 C minced onion
2 Eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tsp smoked paprika

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 TBS canola or vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F
In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry and salsa. Mix well and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies, turkey meat, parsely, onion, eggs and spices.
Mix well
Place the breadcrumbs in a large shallow bowl.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high. With lightly floured hands, form about 1/2 cup of the mixture into a patty, and coat it with the breadcrumbs.
One or two at a time, place the patties in the skillet and cook - 4 minutes each side or until lightly browned.
Transfer the fritters to a naking sheet and place into the oven to keep warm... Repeat with remaining mixture.
Serve fritters with cranberry salsa.
Serves 4 to 6

Wow! That sounds good and an alternative to my usual left overs which would be:

Slice enough turkey breast to make sandwiches and freeze along with the left over dressing.

All the other turkey meat chopped or ground to make turkey salad. All the left over veggies go in a soup pot. And we chow down of vegetable soup and toasted turkey sandwiches or pita bread stuffed with turkey salad.

In a day or so we have open face hot turkey sandwiches with the frozen dressing and turkey slices.

I thought it was a decent idea, but still kinda looks funky to make.

Uhh, what leftovers? With our crew the only thing left will be a bare carcass

AB

my mother makes (IMO) the world's best Turkey and Ham Tetrazzini

here's her recipe from her own hand (well, she emailed it to me)
(you may not find it to be the "world's best" but I grew up on this and I can never get enough.)

Turkey and Ham Tetrazzini (Serves 6)

8 oz. spaghetti, (can break into 2" pieces), cooked

Saute: 1/4 cup chopped green pepper and 1/2 lb. (or 1 can) sliced mushrooms in 1/4 cup butter. Then blend in 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp. white pepper, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat. Stir in 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth and 1 cup milk. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Blend in 3 TBSP sherry or any red wine.

Add 2 cups cooked turkey, cut into small pieces, 1/2 cup cooked cubed ham (or cooked bacon if you don't have ham) and 1 egg yolk to sauce. Mix well. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup slivered almonds (I use 1/4 cup of each).
Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!
Mom

Turkey vegetable soup.

quote:

Originally posted by enginecapt

Turkey vegetable soup.

EVERYONE makes turkey soup.
Blah.
I really cant stand turkey.
I usually make a ham, as turkey is so blase and bland and dry.

This is for something different......
Lets see some other ideas.
Actually, this recipe blew me away, even if it sounds odd.
At least its something NEW.
(even if it sounds strange).
One never knows until one trys it.

quote:

Originally posted by enginecapt

Turkey vegetable soup.

EVERYONE makes turkey soup.
Blah.
I really cant stand turkey.
I usually make a ham, as turkey is so blase and bland and dry.

This is for something different......
Lets see some other ideas.
Actually, this recipe blew me away, even if it sounds odd.
At least its something NEW.
(even if it sounds strange).
One never knows until one trys it.

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

This is for something different......

One would never know that going by the title of the thread. You might consider a retitle lest you continue to get mundane responses.

I like to make turkey croquettes. My grandma used to make them in a log shape rather than the traditional cone shape because she'd fry them in a skillet with a couple of inches of oil and turn them over once rather than deep frying them.

LINCOLN LOGS

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, finely diced
1 cup dry bread crumbs, divided
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped and lightly toasted
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs. finely minced fresh parsley
1/4 – 1/2 tsp.salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 cup white sauce (recipe below)
Cooking oil

Mix chicken or turkey, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, walnuts, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and paprika. Moisten with 1/3 cup of sauce. Form mixture into 12 logs, each 3 inches long. Roll in remaining bread crumbs and fry in oil. Drain and serve with remaining sauce or leftover gravy. Notes: If you have trouble shaping the logs, chill mixture first. White sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, as can the entire logs before frying, storing covered. Sauteed mushrooms can be added to the sauce to be served with the logs. Fresh or dried herbs can also be added in place of some of the parsley; tarragon is especially good.

White sauce:
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
dash pepper
dash paprika
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half-and-half

In medium saucepan, over low heat, melt butter; stir in flour and seasonings until smooth. Gradually stir in broth and half-and-half ; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Makes 1 cup

For many years, despite the large crowd with impressive appetites, I had way too much food left after the meal. I have adjusted (somewhat), but we still have lots more than we consume on the day itself. Now, we send home doggy bags with our grateful relatives.
One year, almost a week later, my wife challenged me to find a new way to use the remaining turkey (she had abandoned it by the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, but not me).
I suggested a "turkey protein shake". She became pale.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Ron

May sound simple but it is oh soooo good.

Take a plain bagel and toast it then spread with plain cream cheese. Layer on the leftover cranberry sauce (the homemade kind not the logs in a can!). Follow that with leftover white meat turkey and top with remaining bagel top. Leftover stuffing can be added but I find that once it gets to a certain height that things tend to start to come out of the sandwich when trying to eat it.

I think I can eat about ten of these.

I am going to try to reproduce Capriotti's sandwich, the Bobbie. I tried once, but it was with not-very-good ingredients -- Stove Top stuffing, a deli-roasted turkey breast -- and I was disappointed. Hopefully homemade dressing and turkey will result in a better sandwich....

Turkey tettrazini, turkey soup, turkey sammiches....

Dammit, outta turkey lol

I really cant stand turkey.
I usually make a ham, as turkey is so blase and bland and dry.

Hmmm, sounds like perhaps too little seasoning and too much cooking. Try brining if you haven't already done so. Turkey, especially the breast, should be juicy when you carve it...it shouldn't fall apart--that's an indicator that it was cooked too long. I've found fresh, rather than frozen, birds do better. They tend to be juicier and more flavorful. Just my opinion.

My mother always made turkey a la king - I would imagine it's the same recipe used for chicken, and those Pepperidge Farm pastry shells with it aren't bad

turkey soup and gumbo from the carcass

A co-worker one year gave me a recipe for turkey pot pie, the original recipe uses frozen mixed vegetables, which I didn't like and experimented with used fresh vegs. It's a little work but good and great way of cleaning out the refrigerator with those extras.

Well,we would usually reheat the turkey and stuffing in the oven,if there was any left overs.
Oh yes,and make sandwiches,that's about it and turkey soup.
My dad's turkey was moist and juicy.It also depends on the turkey you buy and how they raise and feed it.He would tent the turkey and I think we'd also baste it too. Whatever he did was good.Momma took care of the rest of the meal and we kids helped the best we could.
Ah,I wish they both were here right now.I'd take them out for dinner to repay them for their hard work on that day.

Ah, soup from the carcass...

T-Day sammiches....

TETTRAZINIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol

Turkey and sausage GUMBO

I like the leftovers better than the real meal. I melt some butter in a large frying pan, then put mashed taters on one side and stuffing on the other. Heat until browned and crispy. At the same time put some left over gravy and shredded turkey into a microwavable dish - heat until bubbly hot. Pour over taters and stuffing! I can't wait. Then a turkey sandwich on white toast with mayo and a ton of fresh ground pepper. The big meal is just a way for me to get to the leftovers!

another new favorite lunch left over at Mom's house:

Roasted Turkey Wrap (Serves 4 people)

Slice into 1/2 " strips:
1 large red pepped
1 large green pepper
1 large red onion

Mis together in a medium bowl:
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp. cracked peppercorns

Add vegetables to bowl and toss, coating veggies throughty. Roast at 450 degree oven for 15 min. Add 2 cups diced cooked turkey. Roast 5 minutes longer.
Lay 10" flour tortillas flat. Center turkey mixture on 4 tortillas. Top with shredded Montery Jack cheese or cheese of your choice. Fold top and bottom of tortilla toward each other Then fold sides.
Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Thursday 1pm Thanksgiving Dinner
Thursday evening late, Turkey sandwiches, thanksgiving leftovers.
Friday lunch pizza or something tomato NOT with turkey.
Friday dinner leftover Thanksgiving Dinner.
Saturday 1pm lunch: turkey and whatever is in the fridge.
5pm Saturday, Thanksgiving dinner from Thursday is in the trash.
Saturday dinner skirt steak or hamburger or chinese food.

I don't recycle the turkey into another meal like pasta or soup.

turkey and mushroom barley soup

turkey pot pie with carrots,peas, rosemary, summer savory and fresh parsley

turkey hash

We usually have cut-up turkey in gravy, reheat, and spoon over waffles (alongside the other leftovers).

CajunKing, I'm liking the gumbo idea.

We usually do Turkey and gravy open face sandwiches, a mexican bean and torilla soup, and tetrazini.

Besides the usual noshing on the leftovers, I make a sliced turkey, sausage and wild rice casserole.Moms recipe-I will locate and post later.Last year, I made Cajunkings gumbo recipe,and will do so again this year!

Quickies for breakfast the next day or ten! Oil up a frying pan and start the chopped miscelleny frying, then add a couple or three eggs per chow hound and top with shredded cheese. Some people make burritos with the stuff, but a sandwich works for me every time. This will work in the nuker in a pinch, too, if you use the right kind of bowl.

When Big Beautiful Mich and I were first married, we had none. We left the turkey carcass on the kitchen counter, and settled down to watch the Packers hopefully beat the Lions. Jesse, who some of you know, got on the counter and dragged the carcass in the front room (get this) right in front of us. I was telling my bride I was going to carve that sucker up and do the above as prep for Black Friday shopping.

'Nother story. Just this past Thursday my company had a catered Thanksgiving dinner, since we're off on Thanksgiving proper. I told the boss, who was the designated pre-consumption masitcation specialist, to save me the carcass unless someone else had dibs on it. He asked what I was going to do with it and I told him, "Make chicken soup, only with a turkey!" He tossed it. There was a LOT of meat left on it, too. Did he think I was lying? I'm appalled at what people throw away. Ham bones, bacon fat, even the heel from a loaf of bread. Don't tell my mom about this, it would kill her.

I hung my ham bone and turkey carcass up off my bird feeder and the birds had a feast. Unfortunately overnight, the raccoons or foxes made off with it.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by packerwmn

I like the leftovers better than the real meal. I melt some butter in a large frying pan, then put mashed taters on one side and stuffing on the other. Heat until browned and crispy. At the same time put some left over gravy and shredded turkey into a microwavable dish - heat until bubbly hot. Pour over taters and stuffing! I can't wait. Then a turkey sandwich on white toast with mayo and a ton of fresh ground pepper. The big meal is just a way for me to get to the leftovers!

packerwmn, the browned and crispy potatoes and stuffing with the gravy and turkey on top sounds....WONDERFUL! Can't wait till Friday to try it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thinking maybe turkey and BBQ pizza on Saturday night.

Pizza is what I do no Saturday night.