Making the Most of...Roast Turkey

Although I won't be roasting a turkey until Christmas Day, I know many of you in the U.S. have a leftover turkey stashed in your fridge right now! A whole turkey is one of the best values as far as animal proteins go, provided you make use of every bit of it.

Here's what I do with my leftover roast turkey:

1. Carve as much meat off the bones as possible and cube it into small bite-size chunks. I pack this in 2-cup portions into Ziploc bags and freeze.

2. Freeze any leftover gravy in meal-sized portions (about 3/4 to 1 cup or so) to keep on hand for serving with pot pies.

3. Make stock: 

After I've taken as much meat as I can off the carcass, I put it in my stock pot and cover with water, breaking up the carcass a bit so I can get the whole thing in there (if you still have the turkey neck and giblets, they can go in there, too). I then cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, I skim off any foamy stuff that comes to the surface, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 2-3 hours, adding water as needed to keep the pot at least 2/3 full.

I then cool the stock and strain it to remove any solid bits. I pour this into sour cream or yogurt containers to freeze (make sure you don't fill the containers right to the top as the liquid will expand when it freezes). You can also freeze stock in ice cube trays, then pop out the cubes and pack into Ziploc bags for when you just need a small amount of stock.

Now, what to do with all that turkey and stock? The stock can be used in any recipe that calls for chicken stock. A few of my favourite ways to use leftover turkey:

Chicken & Vegetable Coconut Curry

Turkey Pinwheels

Turkey Pot Pie

Curried Turkey and Rice Salad

What are your favourite ways to use leftover turkey?

RECIPE: Turkey Pinwheels

I took a blogging break this weekend to focus on our family's Thanksgiving celebrations (for my international readers, yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in Canada). So now that I'm back - with a fridge full of leftover turkey - I thought it would be fitting to share this quick recipe. It's a fantastic way to use leftover turkey to make a lunch dish that looks much fancier than your standard turkey sandwich. If you don't happen to have a post-holiday stash of leftover turkey, you can use leftover ham or roast chicken in place of the turkey (or even a couple cans of tuna). These pinwheels also make a satisfying light supper with some soup and salad on the side.

Ingredients:

1/3 of a recipe (1 loaf's worth) whole wheat refrigerator bread dough
2 cups chopped leftover turkey
1/2 a medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper, diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2-3/4 cup grated cheese (mozzarella, Swiss or cheddar)

Instructions:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bread dough to a 15"x12" rectangle. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Spread turkey mixture evenly over the bread dough. Starting with the long side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style, pinching the end slightly to seal. Put log seam side down and slice into 12 pieces (I find a serrated knife works best for this). Place slices on parchment covered baking sheets, leaving about 1-2 inches between them. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I shared this recipe at Tasty Tuesday, the GCC Recipe Swap and Friday Favorites.

RECIPE: Curried Turkey & Rice Salad

 This is a great main course salad to throw together on a hot summer day - you can make it using leftover rice and turkey (chicken or ham would also work here) and it goes together lickety-split! If you don't have leftover rice on hand, cook 1 1/2 cups of raw rice in 3 cups of water and you'll have the right amount to use for this recipe..

Ingredients:
3-4 cups leftover cooked rice
2-3 cups leftover cooked turkey, diced
1/2 a medium red pepper, diced
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen and thawed)
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 of a 13 oz can coconut milk
1 tbsp curry powder
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the rice, turkey, pepper, peas, peanuts, and green onions. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Pour dressing over rice mixture and stir until evenly coated.

I shared this recipe at Foodie Friday, Friday Feasts, Friday Favorites and the GCC Recipe Swap

RECIPE:Turkey Pot Pie

On Sundays we generally have a proper "Sunday dinner", a special meal that takes a bit more effort than I'd go to on a weekday. We also break out the good silver (a family heirloom) and even flowers and candles on occasion.

Digging around in the freezer earlier in the week, I'd realized that I still had 3 meals left of diced turkey from the Christmas bird, and Easter (and more turkey leftovers) is not that far off. So I decided on the following menu:

Turkey Potpie
Mashed potatoes with gravy (gravy from freezer stash)
Green beans

Butterscotch pudding (I used a recipe from Gourmet magazine, but I found it over-set and had a jelly-like consistency; I think I'll try this one next time)

We were recently gifted a batch of brew-your-own-wine, so there was wine to go with dinner as well!Turkey Potpie
If you have leftover veggies in the fridge that need to be used up, substitute them for all or part of the vegetables called for in the recipe (you want about 3 cups of veggies total). I had about 1/3 of a loaf of refrigerator bread dough sitting in the fridge and decided to use it for the topping in place of my usual pastry crust.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups chopped leftover turkey

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk (I use reconstituted skim milk powder)
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dried parsley

Topping:
1 pie crust worth of pastry, biscuit or bread topping as desired (use what you've got!)

In large frying pan, saute onions, garlic and carrot in olive oil until carrots start to soften. Add peas, corn and turkey and cook over medium heat until heated through (add a bit of water to the pan if mixture starts to dry out).

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, whisk the cornstarch into the cold milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and cook over med-low heat until mixture thickens.

Pour the sauce over the turkey mixture and stir until well combined. Pour into a glass lasagna dish and top with pie crust, biscuit dough or bread dough, as desired.

Bake at 375F for about 20-25 min or until hot and bubbly and crust is golden brown.

I shared this recipe at Friday Favorites.