Turkey pileup on aisle 10!

 by Sparkle Abbey

Like most of the
world, we “canceled” our traditional Thanksgiving gathering. Instead, we celebrated
with only the family members we lived with, which was 2-4 people, and Zoomed
with the rest of the family.  And while the
size of the turkey was reduced from the typical twenty-two pounds to a paltry
ten pounds, one of us doesn’t know how to cook a Thanksgiving meal for less than
10 people. So we were left with a pileup of turkey, ham, stuffing, glazed carrots,
green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, corny cornbread, and
rolls. What to do with all that leftover food?

The truth is, you
can only eat so many boring ham or turkey sandwiches, right? Eventually, even
we have to get creative and transform those bland leftovers into something we want
to eat. Plus, we need room in the fridge
for Christmas cookies and fudge. After a quick Google search, we actually found
a couple of recipes we liked, that was not only super easy to make but pretty
quick to throw together. Sorry, we didn’t take any photos of our actual dinners,
but we promise the meals were delicious!

Enjoy!

Easy Shepard Pie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped leftover
  turkey
• 1 cup gravy
• 1/2 cup frozen
  mixed vegetables
• 1 cup stuffing
• 1 cup mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat over 350 degrees.
2. Grease two
   ramekins with cooking spray.
3. Combine chopped
   turkey with gravy.
4. Layer equal
   amounts of ingredients in each ramekin in the following order:

        Turkey and gravy
        Frozen vegetables
        Stuffing
        Mashed potatoes

  5. Place ramekins
on a baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes
slightly brown.

Serve warm.

 

Turkey Tortellini
Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive
  oil
• 1/4 cup chopped
  sweet onion
• 1/4 cup thinly
  sliced celery
• 1/4  cup thinly sliced carrots
  
• 1 teaspoon minced
  garlic
• 3 cups turkey stock
  or chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped or
  shredded leftover turkey
• 1 (9-oz.) pkg.
  refrigerated tortellini of your choice
• 1 (5-oz.) pkg. fresh
  spinach
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher
  salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black
  pepper
• Shaved Parmesan
  cheese

 

Directions: 

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high.
2. Add onion, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring
   often, until vegetables begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add garlic. Stir for about 1 minute.
4.  Add turkey/chicken stock and cooked turkey, and
   bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes.
5.  Add tortellini, and simmer until tortellini are
   cooked per directions on the package.  Usually 6-7 minutes.
6.  Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper. Remove from
   heat. Top each serving with shaved Parmesan cheese.

Leftover Ham & Cheese Brunch Bake

Ingredients: 

• 10 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk
  
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
  
• Salt & pepper 
  
• 4 cups of cubed bread (Crusty bread, like French bread works best.)
  
• 8 ounces of chopped ham
  
• 1 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (Can be regular cheddar or white cheddar.) 

Directions:  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, thyme, & garlic powder.
3. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
4. Butter a large baking dish. Add bread and top with ham and cheese. 
5. Pour egg mixture over the top.
6. Bake until eggs are cooked through – approximately 45 to 55 minutes. 
7. Reserve a little of the thyme for garnish and add it before serving. 

Note: The bake is even better if you make it the night before, cover with foil, and refrigerate overnight

Here are the links to the original recipes:

https://www.today.com/food/sandra-lee-uses-thanksgiving-leftovers-make-shepherd-s-pie-t200150?cid=sm_npd_td_tw_ma

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/turkey-tortellini-soup-greens