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One Meat into 5 Meals: Let's use Leftover Turkey!

Easy weeknight cooking for your family

By Erika Veduccio and Charlotte Linde November 20, 2018

Save time and money by buying one type of protein, cooking it all at once, and then creating 5 quick and delicious meals for your family!

This month we are featuring leftover turkey!  

Leftovers are the best part of Thanksgiving. There's just something about them. They always taste better the day after! So use your turkey and other leftovers to make these five easy recipes!  

Consider the recipes below as idea starters to help you get going. You can experiment or change things up by using ingredients you already have in your pantry! We created these recipes for a family of four -- so you might need to adjust your quantities.

Enjoy!

(Worried about cooking your turkey? Follow Heather's 10 steps to cooking the perfect turkey!)

Meal One: The Leftover Turkey Sandwich
By: Erika Veduccio

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices fresh Italian bread (we love Nanny’s Scali Bread)
  • Corn
  • Stuffing
  • Cranberry sauce
  • Gravy
  • Turkey
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Mayonnaise

Directions:

  • Lay both pieces of bread on a plate
  • Spread mayonnaise on both slices of bread
  • Layer your favorite leftovers on one side of the bread (turkey, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy)
  • Lay the second slice of bread on top of layered leftovers, mayonnaise side facing leftovers
  • Press down gently on top bread and cut in half
Meal Two: Turkey Pinwheels - 2 Ways
By: Charlotte Linde



Buffalo Turkey Pinwheels

Ingredients:

  • Whipped cream cheese
  • Crumbled blue cheese
  • Sliced celery
  • Leftover turkey
  • Favorite buffalo or hot sauce
  • Flour tortillas

Directions:

  • Spread whipped cream cheese on tortilla
  • Sprinkle with blue cheese, then layer celery and leftover turkey
  • Drizzle with your favorite buffalo or hot sauce
  • Roll tightly and slice into one-inch pieces

BLT Turkey Pinwheels

Ingredients:

  • Mayo
  • Real bacon bits
  • Spinach and arugula
  • Sliced cherry tomatoes
  • Leftover turkey
  • Flour tortillas

Directions:

  • Spread mayo on tortilla
  • Sprinkle with bacon bits, top with greens, and tomatoes
  • Add leftover turkey
  • Roll tightly and slice into one-inch pieces

Meal Three: Turkey Tortellini Soup

By: Charlotte Linde

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups of chicken or turkey broth
  • 2 cups leftover turkey, chopped
  • Package of fresh or frozen tortellini
  • Shredded parmesan cheese
  • Fresh spinach (optional)

Directions:

  • Bring broth to a boil
  • Add turkey and tortellini and cook according to directions
  • Put fresh spinach in the bottom of a bowl and ladle in broth and pasta
  • Top with parmesan cheese
Meal Four: Turkey and Dumplings
By: Charlotte Linde

Ingredients:

  • Tablespoon of butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  • 2 cups leftover turkey, shredded or chopped
  • 6 cups chicken or turkey broth or 3 cans of chicken noodle soup
  • 2 cups baking mix (we used Bisquick) 
  • 2/3 cups milk
  • Salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

Directions:

  • Heat butter and saute celery and carrots until just tender
  • Add turkey and broth or prepared soup
  • Bring to a slow simmer
  • Mix baking mix and milk into a soft dough
  • Drop by spoonfuls into slowly simmering broth
  • Cook uncovered for 10 minutes
  • Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes
  • Garnish with parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Meal Five: Turkey Pie
By: Erika Veduccio

Ingredients:

  • Pie Crust
  • Corn
  • Stuffing
  • Cranberry Sauce
  • Turkey Slices
  • Gravy
  • One Egg

Directions:

  • Grease a pie dish
  • Lay the bottom pie crust
  • Layer the Leftovers (Mash Potatoes, Corn, Turkey, Cranberry)
  • Drizzle Gravy over the layered leftovers
  • Layer top pie crust
  • Beat one egg and use to paint a golden layer on the pie crust
  • Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until golden brown and warmed through

Enjoy your week of leftover meals!




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