Thanksgiving Leftover Makeover
Posted by: TammyI love Thanksgiving leftovers. I cook extra just for the leftovers but the family does like me making over the leftovers. Here are a few of my fast, easy Thanksgiving leftover makeovers.
Turkey Tacos
Just take diced/shredded turkey and use it in place of hamburger. You can use store bought taco seasoning or make your own with the homemade taco seasoning recipe we have here at Frugal Families (I make the large size of this and use this). I just bring the cold turkey to temperature in some water (a bit more than you need to make the taco recipe as you’ll lose some to steam) in a skillet. It warms up and breaks up a bit more as you warm and stir the turkey and then just put in my seasoning. Then I serve it in tacos just like normal.
Turkey Pot Pie
If you have lots of leftover vegetables from a vegetable platter, you CAN use these up to make your turkey pot pie. Generally, I’m a bit lazier. I made this today by putting my leftover gravy, chopped up turkey and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables into a saucepan. I didn’t have enough gravy so I added a bit of broth and brought it all to a simmer. I had a leftover pie crust (one of those roll and bake varieties) so while the filling warmed up, I rolled out the dough and cut strips.
I sprayed a 9 x 9″ baking pan and poured the filling right into the pan and then created a woven design on top of the filling. I baked it off at 350f degrees until the dough was cooked. Here is what it looked like before baking:
Butternut Soup
I LOVE butternut soup! It’s more of a bisque-thick and creamy. This used up my leftover roasted butternut squash and honestly, you kind of have to wing it as far as amounts because how much you have leftover will vary the other ingredients.
I began by melting butter in a sauce pan and then adding diced onion and celery. Saute until tender. While those are getting soft, scoop out the squash from the skin if this is how you cooked it and cut or mash it up. Once the onion and celery were tender, I added about 1 cup of leftover chicken stock from when I made the Thanksgiving stuffing. You can use vegetable stock, too. I put in the leftover squash. If you have a lot of squash (more than 2 cups or so) you’ll need to add more liquid BUT don’t add to much because you’ll be adding milk near the end. I simmered the squash for a few minutes to heat it through. I also added salt, pepper, sage and some brown sugar to the soup.
Once it’s all simmered for a bit, you can pour it into a blender and LOOSELY cover and blend or use an immersion blender to smooth out the soup. If it’s too thick, add a bit more broth. You’ll be adding a bit of milk/cream at the end to add to the creaminess of the bisque, so again, don’t add too much. If you’re using a blender, now is a good time to add a bit of milk or cream to the bisque and smooth a bit more before returning to the saucepan to heat (do not boil).
I LOVE serving this bisque with a sprinkle of Asiago cheese on top or a handful of croutons.