leftover turkey ideas

[fivi2]

I know I am a week early on this, but the in-laws brought up a huge smoked turkey this weekend. There is no way we will eat it all before it goes bad. I need to make something with it tonight that I can freeze for later. Any ideas? Soups, casseroles, anything? I have a ton of meat - white and dark. Should I just freeze the meat and make soup or something with it later? Will that be gross?

[wencit]

How about a turkey tetrazzini? DH says if I die before him, he will miss this dish the most. ;) Needless to say, I am not giving him the recipe, LOL!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Turkey-Tetrazzini-13377

[jenfromnj]

I am hoping to make the Pioneer Woman's white chicken enchiladas with leftover turkey, inspired by her suggestion and reviews saying it's yummy. Not the healthiest dish, but delish:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/white-chicken-enchiladas/

[sariana]

You can freeze the meat now and use it in something later. That's not gross at all. We do it every year. It should keep for at least 6 months, especially in a deep freezer that is not opened often. (We just put ours in a regular freezer.)

I wouldn't use the previously frozen meat on a salad or anything like that. It should be cooked into something new once it's defrosted. Some Crock-Pot recipes call for cooked chicken or turkey; it would be perfect for that purpose. (I use them interchangeably.)

[army_mom]

You can freeze the meat now and use it in something later. That's not gross at all. We do it every year. It should keep for at least 6 months, especially in a deep freezer that is not opened often. (We just put ours in a regular freezer.)

I wouldn't use the previously frozen meat on a salad or anything like that. It should be cooked into something new once it's defrosted. Some Crock-Pot recipes call for cooked chicken or turkey; it would be perfect for that purpose. (I use them interchangeably.)

:yeahthat:

We use ours for Turkey pot pie (one of DH's favorite), turkey noodle soup, and any recipe that calls for chicken. I LOVE thanksgiving leftovers. One of the big drawbacks of not hosting :-( May have to go buy a turkey to cook just for the leftovers!

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

I am a vegetarian, so take my advice as you will ;), but we do Shepard's pie with our leftover faux turkey, and it uses potatoes, so it's is a win/win if you usually have leftover potatoes, too.

[fivi2]

Thanks guys! I think I will make a soup tonight and freeze the rest to try some of these other recipes. They all sound so good!

[infomama]

Leftover turkey round here lands on a croissant with some mayo and cheddar cheese. Sometimes it gets a pickle ;)

[s7714]

It's become tradition for us to make a big turkey pot pie or shepard's pie the day after Thanksgiving. I like making those because it uses up leftover turkey, veggies, gravy, and if it's shepard's pie, mashed potatoes as well. I usually make a batch of turkey noodle soup a couple of days later.

Whatever turkey I have left after those I use up in some make ahead and freeze type casseroles. They don't have to be turkey specific recipes, I just substitute turkey for chicken in our favorites.

[Pepper]

Use it to make smoked turkey salad - yum! Or try this soup recipe, subbing the sm. turkey for the smoked chicken. It's one of our faves, esp. in the summer when there's fresh corn to make it with. FYI i've made it with frozen, thawed smoked chicken and it turned out fine.

Smoked Chicken Chowder (I found this rec on Gail's Recipe Swap,an old Epicurious forum)

3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large baking potato
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream (or whole milk)
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1-1/2 whole boneless smoked chicken breasts (about 1 pound), skin and fat removed and meat cut into 1/2-inch dice
hot sauce, to taste
Optional: 2 cups fresh or frozen corn

In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook the onions in oil over moderate heat stirring, until softened. Peel and cut potato into 1/4-inch dice. To kettle add potato and garlic and cook stirring, 1 minute. Stir in flour, and cook over moderately low heat, stirring 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups broth and heavy cream (or whole milk) and bring to a boil stirring. Add tomatoes, cheeses, parsley, (corn, if you're using it) and chicken and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding enough of remaining cup broth to thin soup to desired consistency, 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Season soup with salt/pepper and hot sauce, to taste. Good served in bread bowls! Makes about 8 cups.

[natness]

I make mini turkey pot-pies for the freezer. I buy packs of disposable mini pie tins that come with plastic covers-- and frozen pie crusts if I'm too lazy to make my own. Turkey stock and a splash of milk, thickened with roux, thyme, mushrooms, frozen peas, carrots and pearl onions-- lots of turkey. I do a top and bottom crust and freeze till wanted. I have forgone the mini tins and tried to do pockets but that was messy.