Days after Thanksgiving and I open my refrigerator and a platter of turkey still fills the top shelf. There’s too much. My DH and I could eat turkey for a week and still have leftovers. How could this be? The kids all went home with their share yet still there is so much.
Looking ahead, the months are going to be much colder. The northwest wind will rattle the window panes, leaving behind lacey fingerprints. My Irish Setter will wear a white muzzle most of the time because he’ll constantly dig in the snow, sniffing out a field mouse or chipmunk. My DH’s cheeks will rival Santa Claus’ complexion after an hour of plowing. Yes, the months of ahead are perfect for hearty soups that will warm the body and spirit. So today I will take that turkey, cut it up into bite size pieces and freeze it.
Do you have a favorite turkey leftover recipe to share? Here is one of my favorite.
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
4 medium potatoes peeled and diced
1 cup of frozen peas
2 to 3 cups of diced turkey
32 oz of chicken/turkey broth ( I freeze left over broth too)
One bag of potpie noodles. I love making my own potpie but in a pinch I use commercial made.
Directions:
Add to tablespoons of oil to warm stock pot. Add celery, carrots and potatoes, stir constantly for about three minutes. Add turkey and frozen peas and parsley. Stir for another minute or so. Add broth and three cups of water. Bring mixture to a boil. Add potpie. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until potpie is soft but not mushy. Let stand for a few about three minutes and serve with thick slices of toasted bread. YUM.
For more of my recipes check out free download of the Ruby-Slippered Sisters cookbook, EAT, READ, LOVE. It features recipes from each of my books and those of my Ruby sisters.
AMAZON
Also, join me this Friday, November 30th, at Christmas Angels We're celebrating angels. Tell us about the angel on your life.
Oh, don't forget to enter my holiday gift contest. Deadline is November 30th at midnight EST. Go to AJ Notes for details.
Enjoy!
AJ
This recipe sounds really good, Autumn, thanks. And I love angels, just did a post about them myself,
Actually later in the day on Thanksgiving, I'll package leftovers into freezer meal containers that I can nuke later. The carcass will be wrapped and frozen for soups later. That way I don't have a huge turkey sitting in my freezer.
In all honesty, it's my older grandchildren who pull the turkey off the bone.
Sounds good! Sometimes I make a turkey pie with turkey and vegetables -- whichever vegs I happen to have. I use commercial pie crusts, but I really should learn how to make pie pastry myself...
Yummy! I try buy a small one. DH ain't turkey crazy. But he does like pot pies!
Thanks, Beth.
JL, I should freeze right away, but T-day I'm just fried from olaying w/ grandkids. LOL That is a good idea to freeze carcass. I'll have to try that next time I make a turkey, which wouldn't be too far off.
Thanks, Barbara. When I make a pie, I usually use a basic bread dough and roll thin--no letting the dough raise. It's yummy.
Thanks, Mary R! Enjoy.
Thanks for the ideas! I could do that with chicken leftovers, too, especially when Kroger has a sale on the roasted ones. (Cooking for one means leftovers, which I enjoy.)
Autumn, I know what you mean. I have almost an whole turkey in my frig. I'll try your recipe. It sounds really tasty.
Thanks for the recipe, Autumn. It's always a problem for me to find yummy turkey leftover recipes. Love the idea of the cook book! Thanks for letting me know.
I have two containers in my freezer - glad I read this, it reminded me to make soup!!!
Autumn,
We didn't eat home this Thanksgiving, so we didn't enjoy the leftovers that you had. Enjoy!