What Do You Do with Leftover Turkey?

Most of us really enjoy sliced turkey sandwiches (have you tried putting cranberry sauce right on the sandwich?), but if you have a lot of turkey left, you can stop and think of different ways to present "the bird" so that your family doesn't get very tired of thinking of meals as just leftovers.

You can make turkey salad adding dried cranberries or grapes or crushed pineapple or orange segments, etc. stuffed into a tomato or served on a different bread such as Italian or marble pumpernickel or onion rolls; patties or croquettes; hash with eggs; pot pies with assorted vegetables; chili (makes a much leaner version); open faced sandwiches with gravy and perhaps stuffing or sliced apple; put into a wrap with lettuce and tomato; add to pasta or macaroni and cheese; make into a stew or casserole (top with biscuits for a complete meal!!); make a spinach salad with cucumbers and bacon, etc.; appetizers on unusual crackers or in puff pastry; put into fried rice; on pizza; ala king over toast; meatballs; into corn muffins; and on and on!

With turkey parts on sale right after Thanksgiving (and our supermarket has them all year round since turkey is so versatile and healthy), I decided to make up the following Turkey Soup: 2 large thighs, the neck that I had saved, chicken broth added to lots of water, herb and garlic dry soup mix (or you could use golden onion, onion-mushroom, vegetable, or whatever dry soup you prefer), celery, onions, fresh mushrooms, and even threw in some small pasta!!!

Delicious!! And plenty to enjoy (and freeze) and have handy if you should come down with a cold, for instance!! Turkey soup is as good as chicken soup for us at such a time!!

Turkey freezes well for up to three months and can be frozen in portions to be used in a variety of ways.

You might want to check out eatturkey.com for over 900 recipes!! After all, as they say, "Turkey is a delicious, nutritious protein. A 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains 26 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 0 grams of saturated fat. That's 8 percent more protein than the same size serving of boneless skinless chicken breast or trimmed top loin beefsteak. No wonder it's the perfect protein.

Contact me with your ideas or comments!!