Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup

Sometimes it is hard trying to figure out what to do with all those leftovers. If you are anything like my husband, you do not want to waste any food, ever! I can’t say that this is a bad thing. I used to be very wasteful but thanks to him I am not anymore. After our lovely turkey dinner, we had some leftover “crappy” sections. I call them crappy because I don’t like them. It was a leg and a thigh – all dark meat. Don’t get me wrong, it has a lot of flavor, I just don’t like that portion of the bird. Anyway – he was out hunting one evening and I knew he would need something hot to warm him up when he got home. I decided to make a turkey soup using those leftover pieces. It worked. I was able to use up all of the meat, flavor the soup and cut the meat into chunks large enough I could pick out what I didn’t want to eat. Everyone wins – plus we got rid of the leftovers! This makes about 6-8 servings.

1large cooked turkey leg (or other part of bird, bone in)

1 large cooked turkey thigh (or other part of bird, bone in)
4 cups of water or vegetable broth
½ cup chopped celery
1 ear of corn
¼ cup diced onion
½ cup chopped carrots
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp parsley
8 oz of GF pasta (I used rice penne pasta)

•  In a large stockpot, sauté celery, carrots and onion for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add in water or broth, turkey pieces, corn, salts, pepper, sage and parsley. B
• ring to boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove corn and turkey from pot. Cut corn from the cob and return to pot.
• Cut pieces of the turkey meat into small chunks and return to pot. Add in pasta and return to boiling.
• Cooking time will vary at this point, depending on your type of pasta. Just watch the soup closely until pasta is finished cooking. 

Turkey Pot Pie

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Here’s a quick and easy recipe for using up some leftover turkey and it is so much better for you than the frozen pot pies. I should call this the ultimate leftover pie. You can even simplify the crust if you’d like by using a premade crust (an extra from Thanksgiving Dinner maybe?). The best part though is the turkey is already made, the veggies are frozen or leftovers and the sauce is easy to make. This makes about 6 servings.

1 cup cooked turkey, cut into small chunks

½ cup cooked potatoes, mashed or cubed
12 oz or 1 ½ cups mixed veggies (frozen or leftovers – I used leftover green bean casserole, corn, carrots)
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced celery
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup water or chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 GF pie crust (alternate recipe below)

• In a large skillet, sauté onion and celery in olive oil. Add in mixed veggies, turkey, parsley, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook until veggies are tender or about 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine broth and cornstarch until well blended. Pour into skillet mixture and bring to boiling, about 10 minutes.
• In a deep dish pie plate, pour skillet mixture. Top with pie crust, piercing with a knife to allow heat to release.
• Bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes or until crust starts to brown. Let cool about 10 minutes and serve.

 

GF Pot Pie Crust

This is different-just a forewarning. But it is still great and gives a flaky texture to this pot pie.

1 cup GF flour blend

½ avocado
¼ -1/2 cup water
¼ tsp salt

• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, avocado, water and salt. Blend using a pastry knife until avocado is mashed and mixture is well blended, adding extra water if needed. Roll out on a floured surface into desired shape and use as you would any pie crust.

Turkey Cranberry Sandwich

If you liked my cranberry spread, you will love it on this sandwich. I know making a sandwich is not hard to do and this one is very simple but sometimes you find the right combination and it is too good not to share. Turkey and cranberry just go together and with the holidays coming up I hope you remember this for any leftovers you may have. It’s also perfect to make ahead and take for a quick and easy lunch as it is just as good cold as it is hot! Makes 1 sandwich. Enjoy!

2 slices of gluten-free bread (I love Udi’s or homemade)

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp cranberry orange spread
2 slices of deli turkey meat (A local market has a great honey roasted turkey)
1 slice cheddar cheese
1 tsp dairy free butter

• Spread butter on both sides of bread slices.
• On a hot griddle, lay bread slices and cook for about 5 minutes or they start to brown.
• On the griddle, warm turkey slices.
• Flip over bread slices to cook the other side.
• On one slice of bread, spread Dijon mustard. On the other side, spread the cranberry orange spread.
• Layer the slice of cheese on a bread slice.
• Top with turkey slices and then the remaining bread slice. Serve immediately.
• You can obviously cook this on a Panini press but I don’t have one so the griddle worked fine!

Meal Plan Week of 09/15/13-09/21/13

Happy Saturday -

Hope everyone's day has been wonderful. Ours was pretty great. My daughter turned one this week so we celebrated her birthday today. It was perfect weather and a great day. We also had our first soccer games today. We lost- but the kids played hard and had fun which is all that matters! It was a busy but beautiful day filled with family and friends. Next week is also busy! Our church will be starting our religion classes this coming week. It is my first year to volunteer so that's exciting but also makes me nervous! I'll probably post my class topics or ideas to help keep track of everything! My husband is also having a birthday next week. Another crazy week in store but we are so blessed!

Either way - here's this week's meal plan. Notice lots of leftovers in store. I dislike leftovers but if you make it right the first time, sometimes it keeps pretty well! Spaghetti or pasta dishes are my favorite to have the next day so those types of dishes were incorporated this week.

15	16	17	18	19	20	21
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
egg bake	egg scramble	egg	skinny	egg scramble	poached egg	French toast
toast	w/veggies	cereal	oatmeal	toast	toast	bananas
fruit	apple	banana	fruit	banana	apple	berries
tea	tea	tea	tea	tea	tea	tea
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
bean soup	salad w/	lettuce wraps	salad w/	lettuce wraps	taco salad	ribs/wings
corn bread	peaches	hummus	beans	guacamole	lettuce	shrimp dip
salad	crackers	carrots	fruit	crackers	berries	salad
water	water	water	water	water	water	water
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
mac & cheese	grilled salmon	baked	leftover	mini turkey	KIDS	leftovers
squash bake	coleslaw	turkey meatballs	pasta/soup	taco bowls	CHOICE	veggies
salad	edamame	"pasta"	salad	salad	(out)	salsa
water	water	water	water	water	water	water
Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
smoothie	fruit	smoothie	cheese	trailmix	nuts	cheese
veggies	nuts	trailmix	veggies	fruit	veggies	almonds
cupcakes	milk shake	fruit nachos	cookies	frozen yogurt	smore's	brownies