Photo credit: cooking-spree.com
One of my last posts was also about leftovers, a mostly failed attempt at incorporating the morning's oatmeal into a batch of cookies. When that didn't work I tuned the batter into muffins and that was the key to my success, trying something different. So, this year, if Grandma's leftover recipes aren't doing it for you, try something new. And no offense to Grandma, she's one of my favorite cooks.
After feeding fifteen of us this year, we have the usual suspects as leftovers; turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes. The thing is, right after Thanksgiving, I don't feel like doing lots of cooking, so all of these recipes must be low maintenance. Aside from the typical line-up of turkey sandwiches, turkey casserole, or just straight up reheating everything, here are some great recipes you can try. Some of them are great for my vegetarian friend, some will work for the gluten-free folks, all of them are great for stretching your holiday-week food budget.
Let's start at the top - Turkey
Note: If you're a vegetarian, you may want to skip this part, it's not pretty.
"Are you gonna throw those bones away?" my husband asks our hostess after enjoying a great dinner of broiled chicken and vegetables.
"Yeah, what else would I do with them?" she asked.
"Well, you make soup. You throw those bones into a pot and make chicken stock, then you can turn that into chicken and dumplings or anything you want."
"I'm not going to do that, but you're welcome to take them." He was amazed that she felt the effort to throw the chicken into a stock pot was more than it was worth. It seems to me we left that meal with a bag of bones in tow. Again, waste not, want not. It's coming to be a mantra around here.
Another note: I know this recipe looks super involved. It's really not.
Turkey Tortilla Soup
Part 1: Submerge and simmer in 2 quarts of water any "spare" parts you retrieved from the turkey before baking (neck, giblets)
Part 2: 1 leftover turkey, demeated (is that even a word?)
1 bunch celery, cut bottom off and throw stalks into the pot
2 large onions, halved but not peeled (the peel turns the soup a rich brown)
10 garlic cloves, don't bother peeling these either
2 Tbsp season salt or Mrs. Dash
salt and pepper to taste
Part 3: soup veggies and turkey meat
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 can black beans (if desired)
Part 4: 3 cups cooked rice
fresh chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions - or use a can of seasoned tomatoes like Rotel
cilantro, avocados chopped and set aside
1 cup shredded cheese
1-2 cups crushed corn tortilla chips
Part 1 of this soup begins before the turkey even gets into the oven by removing the "extra" parts from the bird and putting them in a pot with all of the above ingredients (except the turkey bones and meat, obviously). I add about two quarts of water, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for the day while the turkey is baking and the festivities are underway. If you don't do it that way, don't worry, just move on.
Part 2 After dinner is over and dishes are done we turn our attention to the turkey carcass and strip as much meat as we can from the thing. I know, sounds disgusting. It is serious hunter-gatherer work, and not for the faint of heart. When we've carved and pulled as much meat away as we can get, we bag it up for later use and put the whole pile of bones into a stock pot with the Part 1 items. Then we add a bunch of celery, some onions halved but not peeled, a handful of garlic, salt and pepper. We cover it all with water, set it on a high heat until it starts to boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for several hours. This part is super easy, no baby-sitting or watching the pot. Just let it do its thing. This can also be done the next day if it's late and you need to go to bed.
Part 3 Once your stock is ready, (at least 4 hours later) pour it through a strainer into a large bowl. With a fork, pull off any remaining meat you can get, and retrieve any garlic or onion pieces you may want (they should be out of their skins now). You should have LOTS of stock and could freeze half of it for later and use half for now. Once you've divided it up, pour your stock back into the pot (at least 6 cups) and add any chopped veggies (carrots, potatoes, anything else) you want, as well as the turkey meat, beans and spices. The veggies should only need 20 minutes on a medium boil to cook. When they are tender your soup is done.
Part 4 Serve soup piping hot in the following fashion - Lay down hot cooked rice on the bottom of a soup bowl. follow that with a sprinkle of cheese and a few generous ladles of soup. Now add all the fresh cut veggies and finally top with corn tortilla chips. This is NOT your Grandma's turkey soup. It's SO savory and tasty you will want to have it every time you have leftover poultry bones to grapple with.
Question: What do you do with your leftover turkey?
Tune in next time for potato croquettes, stuffing fritatta and sweet potato muffins.
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