Thanksgiving’s over but you wouldn’t know it from looking in my refrigerator. Its overflowing with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Two turkeys were cooked in my household this year. It was a battle between husband and wife. A turkey cook off so to speak between fried and maple glazed. He stood outside in the cold, fully covered in his protective garb while I stayed in the warmth and watched as he ordered around his father, my brother, our sons and even our neighbor. It took one cook to cook a roasted turkey and 6 to cook a fried. While the fried turkey was moist and tender I think mine won in looks and flavor. Needless to say we made way too much. So whether or not your turkeys were fried or roasted, here are a few recipes you can try using your leftovers.
Tortilla Soup
Condiments:
Leftover turkey
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup grated monterey jack. cheese
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, cut
into 1 inch pieces
For the soup:
1 packet tortilla strips
Vegetable spray
1/2 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained
7 cups chicken broth
Shred turkey into bite size pieces. In a medium size saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown garlic. Add onions, cumin, coriander, and cayenne and stir until soft. Add salt, tomatoes, and one third of the crispy tortilla strips. Add the chicken broth and cook for about 15 minutes more. Let cool, then puree the soup in batches in a blender.
Serve hot with the remaining crispy tortilla strips, the cheese, avocado, and turkey pieces.
Turkey Paninis
1/4 c dijon mustard
1/4 c mayonnaise
8 slices challah bread, about 1 inch thick
6 ounces sliced muenster cheese
12 ounces sliced turkey
Salt and pepper, to taste
2/3 cup cranberry sauce or relish
Mix mustard and mayo together in a small bowl. Spread about 1 tablespoon of mustard mixture on on one side of each piece.
Lay cheese on half of the bread slices, top with turkey, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the cranberry sauce on the remaining 4 slices of bread and close sandwiches, pressing each one together.
Heat panini machine or a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed skillet. Lay sandwiches in skillet and put a weight or another frying pan to press down. Cook about 3 minutes and turn and cook for additional 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
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Thanksgiving is celebrated today in the United States and it is one of the biggest holidays we have. We join together with others around a plentiful table and symbolically ‘give thanks’ for the things we are grateful for. While this is a blog and site dedicated to food, I wanted to share a little more than just that today.
I am not lucky enough to get to cook Thanksgiving Dinner each year. My mother-in-law still hangs on to tradition and wants us to come to her more often than not. So, those years that I do get to host, I’m thrilled about it and make the turkey the way that my family has come to love: Brined.
The quickest way to avoid Thanksgiving Day leftovers is to invite many and send home lots. As Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for what we have and sharing with others, inviting extra folks – a college student far from home, a widowed neighbor, anyone who doesn’t have a family to celebrate with or even an entire family that doesn’t have the means to celebrate – will be the sure cure to having too much food leftover.
As Thanksgiving approaches, my stress level reaches its annual high as I worry about my menu, the number and size of turkeys I have yet to cook, and whether or not everyone will fit comfortably around my dining room table. I share this day, as many Americans do, with loved ones in the comfort of my home. I fill myself with all the holiday delectables and spend the remainder of the day either pretending to watch football or chatting with family and friends.