We had our Thanksgiving/Homecoming dinner at church last Sunday and I was blessed with the leftover turkey--a blessing that I love to have given to me! I came home and made a small list of the meals we could have with leftover turkey. Our menu was delicious and varied all week in spite of the fact we had turkey every night.
Here's the meals I thought of just off the top of my hat to make with leftover turkey:
Quick Turkey Divan
(also can use with chicken)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained
9-12 oz. of turkey (I just guessed and made sure that their was plenty for my oval 2 qt. casserole dish)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Layer broccoli in the bottom of a greased shallow 2 qt. casserole dish. (or 10x6x2 or 9 x 13 or...just adjust baking times based on size of dish) Top with turkey. Blend soup and milk; pour over all. Bake at 450 about 15 minutes or until heated completely through. (I baked mine at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.) Put cheese on top as soon as it comes out of the oven. Serve nice and warm!
Turkey (Chicken) A La King
(Alicia's favorite when she was at home)
Chopped pepper (as much as you like-about 2 Tbsp. or so)
Chopped onion (1/4 cup or so)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarin
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 Tbsp. diced pimiento
1 can green peas (drained well)
*This is the quick version which I don't do at home, but thought I'd put it in for those who are wanting something quick. I'll tell about my version at the end of this recipe.
In skillet, cook green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Blend in soup and milk; add chicken and pimiento. Heat; stir now and then. Serve with biscuits. 3-4 servings.
Now for my homemade version:
I fry the pepper and onion in the butter until tender. Then I add flour till I make a fairly thick paste. I add milk and make a nice creamy white sauce. Then I add my chicken, about one half can of peas, pimiento and sometimes (like the other night) a couple boiled eggs.
We had biscuits under ours the other night but usually I butter bread and push it down in muffin cups. It kind of looks like a crown because the four points of the bread stick up. I put it in the oven and toast it till nice and brown and then serve the gravy over the "kings cups"! The kids love them because they form their own little bowl of sorts for their gravy.
Chicken (Turkey) Casserole
*This is an old family favorite here at the Neal household!
Have your turkey that has been leftover and removed from the bone. Cut or chop it into bitesize pieces.
1 stick margarine
1 pkg. cornbread stuffing (Stovetop stuffing)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can crean of chicken soup
(or two cans of cream of mushroom soup and two cans of cream of chicken soup...or one can of cream of celery soup and one can of cream of mushroom soup...well, you get it--two cans of some kind of creamed soup!)
1 can chicken broth (the original recipe said this and I have no idea what size can that is. I just take leftover broth from my turkey and freeze it for when I need chicken broth, or I make up a cup of broth with chicken bouillon or I use 8 oz. of a can of chicken broth and it works perfect!
Put your stick of butter on top of the dry stovetop stuffing in a mixing bowl and melt the margarine in your microwave. Spray a 9x 13 pan or a nice oval casserole dish. Put 1/2 of the stuffing mixture in the bottom of your pan. Then put your chicken (turkey today) on top of the stuffing mix. Mix up your soups and broth and pour them over the chicken and stuffing in your pan. Put the second half of the stuffing mixture on top and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. So good!
Chicken Pot Pie
Have plenty of that leftover turkey ready and chopped into bitesize pieces
16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
9 oz. chicken broth
Mix all the above together and put in a greased 9x13 pan or long oval casserole dish.
Topping:
1 cup self-rising flour (I don't buy the stuff so I just add 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to my regular flour)
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup milk
Mix this up really well and pour over the mixture in your dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
*This recipe came from Mrs. Judy Gearis, (the wife ofBrother Ron Gearis with Rock of Ages Ministry) years and years ago!
My personal favorite of pot pie is more work but I love it. Make my pie crust recipe and roll out enough pie crust to fill the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Make a white sauce and season to taste adding all kinds of good veggies or the frozen veggies that have been thawed and drained. Add the turkey or chicken too. Pour into the pie crust and then top with more pie crust and poke the crust to let it breathe as it bakes. Bake till golden brown. Makes store bought pot pies taste sick...
One more and I'm going to bed, I promise! I just love turkey, I love Thanksgiving and I love being in my kitchen when it's cold outside. (Well, I love being in my kitchen.)
Breaded Chicken (Turkey) Patties
(You can freeze these little fellows for up to 3 months. They're very nice to have on hand on a busy evening and you need something quick and good!)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (save one little lonely piece of celery from the dressing so you have it in the crisper drawer after Thanksgiving)
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, divided
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 and 1/3 cups milk, divided
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (I cheat and use the dried)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. celery salt
(if I don't want to go buy the flavored salts I might use garlic salt that I have or I might just use all regular salt and add some extra pepper)
2 cups finely chopped turkey or chicken
1 cup dry bread crumbs
In a medium saucepan, saute onion and celery in 3 Tbsp. margarine until tender. Stir in flour until smooth. Add 1 cup milk, mix well. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minjutes. Add parsley, seasonings and chicken. Remove from the heat; chill until completelhy cooled. Shape into six patties, using about 1/3 cup mixture for each. Roll in crumbs, then dip into remaining milk; roll in crumbs again. In a skillet, cook patties in remaining butter for 3 minutes on each side. Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce and tomato, if desired. Uncooked patties may be frozen for up to 3 months.
To prepare frozen patties:
Cook in butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden and heated through.
6 servings.
We can't forget what else you can do with leftover turkey--make a mean lunch salad. Cierra has been cutting it up into cubes with kitchen shears, adding light mayo, cranberries, some almonds at times, a little diced onion and any other seasoning she gets in the mood to put in there and serving it on hot toasted whole grain bread. It is delicious!
There's also the carcass of the turkey that you can boil and take the last of the meat off. You can make turkey vegetable soup, turkey and dumplings, turkey and noodles and the list goes on and on.
During this season that we are to remember to show our thankfulness let's be sure and be good stewards of the blessings the Lord sends our way. Don't waste the tiniest part of that turkey--gobble it all up! :)
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Love,
Mom
Here's the meals I thought of just off the top of my hat to make with leftover turkey:
Quick Turkey Divan
(also can use with chicken)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained
9-12 oz. of turkey (I just guessed and made sure that their was plenty for my oval 2 qt. casserole dish)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Layer broccoli in the bottom of a greased shallow 2 qt. casserole dish. (or 10x6x2 or 9 x 13 or...just adjust baking times based on size of dish) Top with turkey. Blend soup and milk; pour over all. Bake at 450 about 15 minutes or until heated completely through. (I baked mine at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.) Put cheese on top as soon as it comes out of the oven. Serve nice and warm!
Turkey (Chicken) A La King
(Alicia's favorite when she was at home)
Chopped pepper (as much as you like-about 2 Tbsp. or so)
Chopped onion (1/4 cup or so)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarin
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 Tbsp. diced pimiento
1 can green peas (drained well)
*This is the quick version which I don't do at home, but thought I'd put it in for those who are wanting something quick. I'll tell about my version at the end of this recipe.
In skillet, cook green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Blend in soup and milk; add chicken and pimiento. Heat; stir now and then. Serve with biscuits. 3-4 servings.
Now for my homemade version:
I fry the pepper and onion in the butter until tender. Then I add flour till I make a fairly thick paste. I add milk and make a nice creamy white sauce. Then I add my chicken, about one half can of peas, pimiento and sometimes (like the other night) a couple boiled eggs.
We had biscuits under ours the other night but usually I butter bread and push it down in muffin cups. It kind of looks like a crown because the four points of the bread stick up. I put it in the oven and toast it till nice and brown and then serve the gravy over the "kings cups"! The kids love them because they form their own little bowl of sorts for their gravy.
Chicken (Turkey) Casserole
*This is an old family favorite here at the Neal household!
Have your turkey that has been leftover and removed from the bone. Cut or chop it into bitesize pieces.
1 stick margarine
1 pkg. cornbread stuffing (Stovetop stuffing)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can crean of chicken soup
(or two cans of cream of mushroom soup and two cans of cream of chicken soup...or one can of cream of celery soup and one can of cream of mushroom soup...well, you get it--two cans of some kind of creamed soup!)
1 can chicken broth (the original recipe said this and I have no idea what size can that is. I just take leftover broth from my turkey and freeze it for when I need chicken broth, or I make up a cup of broth with chicken bouillon or I use 8 oz. of a can of chicken broth and it works perfect!
Put your stick of butter on top of the dry stovetop stuffing in a mixing bowl and melt the margarine in your microwave. Spray a 9x 13 pan or a nice oval casserole dish. Put 1/2 of the stuffing mixture in the bottom of your pan. Then put your chicken (turkey today) on top of the stuffing mix. Mix up your soups and broth and pour them over the chicken and stuffing in your pan. Put the second half of the stuffing mixture on top and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. So good!
Chicken Pot Pie
Have plenty of that leftover turkey ready and chopped into bitesize pieces
16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
9 oz. chicken broth
Mix all the above together and put in a greased 9x13 pan or long oval casserole dish.
Topping:
1 cup self-rising flour (I don't buy the stuff so I just add 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to my regular flour)
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup milk
Mix this up really well and pour over the mixture in your dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
*This recipe came from Mrs. Judy Gearis, (the wife ofBrother Ron Gearis with Rock of Ages Ministry) years and years ago!
My personal favorite of pot pie is more work but I love it. Make my pie crust recipe and roll out enough pie crust to fill the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Make a white sauce and season to taste adding all kinds of good veggies or the frozen veggies that have been thawed and drained. Add the turkey or chicken too. Pour into the pie crust and then top with more pie crust and poke the crust to let it breathe as it bakes. Bake till golden brown. Makes store bought pot pies taste sick...
One more and I'm going to bed, I promise! I just love turkey, I love Thanksgiving and I love being in my kitchen when it's cold outside. (Well, I love being in my kitchen.)
Breaded Chicken (Turkey) Patties
(You can freeze these little fellows for up to 3 months. They're very nice to have on hand on a busy evening and you need something quick and good!)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (save one little lonely piece of celery from the dressing so you have it in the crisper drawer after Thanksgiving)
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, divided
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 and 1/3 cups milk, divided
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (I cheat and use the dried)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. celery salt
(if I don't want to go buy the flavored salts I might use garlic salt that I have or I might just use all regular salt and add some extra pepper)
2 cups finely chopped turkey or chicken
1 cup dry bread crumbs
In a medium saucepan, saute onion and celery in 3 Tbsp. margarine until tender. Stir in flour until smooth. Add 1 cup milk, mix well. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minjutes. Add parsley, seasonings and chicken. Remove from the heat; chill until completelhy cooled. Shape into six patties, using about 1/3 cup mixture for each. Roll in crumbs, then dip into remaining milk; roll in crumbs again. In a skillet, cook patties in remaining butter for 3 minutes on each side. Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce and tomato, if desired. Uncooked patties may be frozen for up to 3 months.
To prepare frozen patties:
Cook in butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden and heated through.
6 servings.
We can't forget what else you can do with leftover turkey--make a mean lunch salad. Cierra has been cutting it up into cubes with kitchen shears, adding light mayo, cranberries, some almonds at times, a little diced onion and any other seasoning she gets in the mood to put in there and serving it on hot toasted whole grain bread. It is delicious!
There's also the carcass of the turkey that you can boil and take the last of the meat off. You can make turkey vegetable soup, turkey and dumplings, turkey and noodles and the list goes on and on.
During this season that we are to remember to show our thankfulness let's be sure and be good stewards of the blessings the Lord sends our way. Don't waste the tiniest part of that turkey--gobble it all up! :)
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Love,
Mom
