Thanksgiving Leftovers!
It is not even Thanksgiving yet and we are talking about leftovers! It is best to plan ahead so you can save yourself a trip to the store after the holiday. After knocking down all the retail doors on Friday, there is no more energy to make it to the grocery. Plus, if anytime there is a time that a trip to the grocery felt like a chore, it was after Thanksgiving. After cooking for hours too numerous to count, do you really want to go food shopping? NO! Here is a meal you need in your arsenal – Creamed Turkey! Creamed turkey is a perfect Thanksgiving leftovers meal. It uses ingredients that you are very likely to have on hand after the feast and it is a one pot meal! If you bake up some fresh biscuits or have left over rolls, you can smile big and declare it a meal. As Thanksgiving leftovers go, creamed turkey is a hearty dish that really fills you up.
It is great dinner, but if you slap a few eggs on top of it though, it is a great Friday pre-shopping breakfast. Real food to fuel the tackling of the holiday gridiron a.k.a. the shopping mall or big box store. There is no civility in the food courts, either. It is every bit as “blood sweat and tears” at the Cinnabon so you may as well eat something hearty before you go.
Here is how I make my Creamed Turkey and Whole Wheat Biscuits!
- 1 lb roasted turkey – dark and white meat mix us best
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 carrot
- 1/lb small white mushrooms
- 1 heaping tbsp of flour
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 1 cup of turkey or chicken stock or left over jus gravy
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper
- heavy cream (optional)
- Clean the mushrooms. If they are large, slice them in half.
- Clean the celery and slice the stalks.
- Peel the carrots and slice them in rounds.
- Chop the turkey into rough cubes
- In a medium pot, melt 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add the carrots. Cook 5 minutes.
- Add the celery and cook 5 minutes more.
- Add the mushrooms. Cook five more minutes.
- Add another tbsp of butter. Let the butter melt and cook 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour all over the vegetable mixture. Stir well.
- Cook the mixture 2-3 minutes until the flour just starts to brown. Pour the stock and milk into the pan stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Stir until all the flour is dissolved.
- Bring mixture to a simmer. Add the turkey. As the mixture simmer it will thicken. Simmer 5 minutes.
- You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more stock, milk or cream.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle over hot biscuits.
- For a vegan or vegetarian option use crisped tofu cubes and dairy alternatives.
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 tbsp Butter – Cold
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- In the bowl or on a clean work surface cut the flour into the cold butter until the mixture looks sandy and the butter is fully incorporated. You can also use a food processor to do this.
- Pour the buttermilk into the flour/butter mixture slowly mixing with a fork to form a loose dough.
- Pour the loose mixture onto a floured work surface.
- Gently work the dough, folding it until it just comes together. Don’t over work it.
- Pat the dough into a round about ½ inch thick and cut the dough with a biscuit cutter to the desired size.
- Place the cut biscuits on a baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve hot!
- NO ROLLING PINS! Pat the dough to the right shape before cutting. Rolling pins are not gentle enough.
- For a vegan option use full fat, vegan margarine and soy milk.
I Hope You Enjoy and Have The Happiest of Thanksgivings!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
What is your favorite thing to make with Thanksgiving Leftovers? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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