Heather says:
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here are some guidelines for safely using your turkey leftovers.
Don’t forget that the bones from the turkey make an excellent base for soup. If you use the chicken bog recipe, it takes a slight tweak, either use the bones in place of the whole chicken pieces or just use turkey or chicken stock in place of the water. The liquid to rice ratio remains the same.
We will be buying a couple of turkeys as soon as they go on clearance. If you ever have thought about looking into batch / freezer cooking to have ready made dinners on hand, cooking a turkey is a great starting point. We were given an oil-free electric turkey fryer / roaster and I can’t wait to give it a try, I’ve heard good things, but had never looked into one.
| Leftover Turkey Recipes | |
|---|---|
| Turkey Pot Pie | Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup |
| Turkey Bog | Enchiladas |
| Turkey Soup | Pilau |
| Turkey Salad | |
| Turkey Skillet | |
Leftover Guidelines
-
- Turkey should be frozen or used within 2 – 6 days.
- Frozen cooked turkey should be used within 2 months and should be cooked thoroughly, immediately after thawing.
- If you have gravy or leftover mashed potatoes they should have been used within 1 – 2 days after Thanksgiving.
- Leftover gravy is an excellent addition to “Mustgo Soup,” mashed potatoes are, too. Both thicken and add flavor.
- Cranberry sauce can be stirred into yogurt, served over ice cream, or it makes a nice accompaniment to pork chops, ham, chicken, or fish. It should be used within 7 days. (The sugar acts as a preservative.)
After big events or projects, a lot of companies like to get together and do what they call the postmortem. It’s a way to figure out what went well, what didn’t, and what you should do differently next time.
As you review your event here are some questions to consider:
What was your favorite part of the meal? Will you make it again? Where is that recipe? Print it out, add your notes and save it for next year.
What will you never make again? Why? Was it the fault of the recipe or did it just not fit your vision.
How were your estimates, did you have the right amount of food or was there too much or little of an item? Many people hope for extra turkey leftovers!
And of course…
Were there any disasters?
What could have been done differently? (Put the dog in a bedroom so he isn’t tempted by items on the counter for example?)
