Friday, November 25, 2011

Leftover . . . turkey and/or ham!

If you are blessed, you have leftovers from your Thanksgiving turkey. Some people don't feel that way but turkey can provide a number of great meals just from what was left from the feast the day before.

Our turkey was over 20 pounds so we have three freezer bags of turkey carcass to boil down into broth. The bits of meat still clinging to the bones provide enough turkey to fill out the soup along with added vegetables. Add some rice or noodles and you have a very inexpensive meal.

We also saved a good amount of meat which I plan to chop and turn into turkey salad sandwiches. All you need is the turkey, a bit of mayo or cream salad dressing, pickle relish, mustard, and a freshly-baked roll to encase the creation. This will work with ham or turkey although you might want to cut the richness of the ham with some chopped celery in the sandwich mix.

Still have leftover meat? Heat it up with a can of undiluted cream of mushroom soup and serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. My son like to add a sprinkling of chili flakes for some spicy sparkle.

Got leftover gravy? Combine it with bits of meat, lots of mixed frozen vegetables and put it in a pie shell. You can save time by buying the premade crusts from the freezer section of the store. You can make your own pot pies.

My family enjoys seeing what I come up with when we have leftovers. My husband has been known to ask, "So, how many meals did you cannibalize to create this dish?"

If you think about it, we served ten people for dinner on Thanksgiving with three or them going back for thirds. That makes 16 meals. I can come up with three batches of soup from the leftover bones, etc., which should provide four to six meals. Making turkey salad sandwiches will provide six lunches. I have enough to make a pot pie for four people. I might even scrape enough together to make a creamed turkey over rice for another four dinners. I only paid $10 for the turkey, in the first place. I think I stretched the budget pretty well.

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