Left Over Turkey Dinner Suggestions

While everyone knows that the next day turkey on a soft roll is the best way to have left overs even that can get old quickly so here are a few ideas to use up all of that turkey.

Turkey or Chicken a la king

½ c. margarine or butter
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 4 oz. can mushroom stem and pieces, drained (reserve liquid for later)
½ c. flour
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
1½ c. milk
1¼ c. chicken broth
2 c. cut up cooked chicken or turkey
1 jar diced pimentos drained
Noodles, or hot cooked rice

Heat margarine in a 3 quart saucepan over medium high heat. Cook bell pepper and mushrooms in the margarine, stirring occasionally

Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.

Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until bubbly. Stir in milk, broth and reserved liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute.

Stir in turkey and pimentos, heat until hot. Serve over rice or noodles This can also be done in the microwave for a super fast and easy meal.

Chicken Zucchini Soup (Turkey)

5 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts or 2 c. turkey
3 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 zucchini sliced
1 can chicken broth
½ c. whipping cream
¼ c. flour

Fry chicken with small amount of oil. Brown and cook chicken, take chicken out of the pan and set aside. Add butter and chopped onion to pan. Cook until tender. Move zucchini and onions to sauce pan, add the can of chicken broth. Dice chicken and add to pan. In bowl mix flour and whipping cream add to sauce pan, heat on high until bubbling. Lower heat; simmer until soup thickens.

White Chicken Chili

1 med onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth
1 4 oz. can chopped, green chilies
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. dried oregano
1½ t. cayenne pepper
3 14.5 oz. great northern beans, drained, mash third can to use for thickening
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
jalapeno pepper, chopped

In a large saucepan cook onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add chicken, chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. With a potato masher mash one of the cans until smooth. Add to saucepan. Add remaining beans to saucepan. Simmer for 2-30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Top each serving with cheese and jalapeno pepper, if desired.

Creamy Turkey Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Orzo

2 T. butter
1 med onion, chopped
½ t salt, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. flour
7 ½ c. homemade turkey stock or canned chicken stock
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
1 c. diced sweet potatoes
2/3 c. orzo pasta
1 c. cooked turkey meat, cubed
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
½ c. cream

In a large stock pot, heat the butter over med heat until melted. Add the onion and cook for three mins. until fragrant. Mix in the garlic, salt, and flour, and cook, stirring continuously, for another 6-7 mins. Pour in the stock and turn up heat to high. Bring liquid to a boil, then stir in the thyme, sweet potatoes, and orzo. Cook at a gentle boil for 8-10 mins., until the potatoes and the orzo are tender. When the pasta is nearly finished, add the turkey to the soup and warm through. Salt and Pepper to taste. Whisk in the cream just before serving.


Turkey or Chicken Squares

2 8 oz. cream cheese
½ t. salt
2-4 c. cooked turkey or chicken or 2 large cans chunk chicken
¼ t. pepper
2 8 oz. can crescent rolls

Blend cream cheese until softened. Add turkey, salt, pepper, onion, chives, and milk. Mix well. Separate the 2 cans of crescent rolls, into 8 squares. Firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon ½ c. of meat mixture into the center of each square. Draw the corners of the dough up and around the meat and twist to seal. Brush top with butter. Dip in seasoned bread crumbs or sesame seeds. Bake at 350’ on cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Good with gravy on top.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

3-4 c. cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 c. cubed fully cooked ham
1 ½ lbs. Swiss cheese, grated
1 small onion, diced, sautéed to soften
4 T. butter
½ c. flour
2 c. half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
3 c. crushed corn flakes
½ cube butter
dash of nutmeg

Grease 9x13 pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, mix ham, chicken, and 1 pound of the cheese. In a sauté pan melt the butter, add flour, and whisk to mix. Pour in the half and half and thicken. Pour into the chicken mixture along with the onions. Mix well and out into a greased cake pan. In a small bowl melt the remaining butter and add the corn flake crumbs. Combine the remaining cheese and top the meat mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes until heated through.

The above recipe makes a large batch so I made a small one for dinner and then freeze another one for a "Rainy Day Meal"

Dave’s Chicken Casserole

3-4 c. bread crumbs, mix with a few T. melted butter
1 10 ¾ oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 10 ¾ oz. can cream of mushroom soup
cooked, diced chicken
broccoli, corn, or whatever vegetable you want

Layer the bottom of the pan with half of the breadcrumbs then pour on one of the cans of the soup, then a layer of chicken, then a layer of the vegetables, then another layer of the chicken, then the other soup and then the rest of the breadcrumbs. It works best if you can make it and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. Bake at 400 for one hour.
(Our first Dave made this for our family as one of his favorite’s just after he married Jessica.)

Cameron's Chicken Divan

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks
1 bag frozen broccoli florets
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. curry powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
croutons or buttered bread crumbs

Just microwave the broccoli and line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with it, then cover with chicken pieces. Make a sauce from the other ingredients and smooth over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with croutons or bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve with rice.

Wild Rice and Turkey or Chicken Soup-already posted under fall soups

Chicken (Turkey) Pot Pie-already posted, this recipe is large enough to make two pies one for tonight and one for the freezer for a "Rainy Day!"

Browned Beef Stew

While not everyone in my family loves soup I am pretty sure that this is one they all like. Especially when it is really cold outside. Mix it up with a green salad and some warm rolls or breadstick for a great winter meal.

Even though I buy the leanest meat that I can find I usually trim it up even more and then cut the pieces into smaller sizes (I think I originally started doing this when my kids were little and needed smaller bites) so that you can get a bite of the meat with every spoonful.

Browned Beef Stew

2 lbs lean stew meat
2-3 carrots, sliced round
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion chopped
2-3 potatoes cubed
2 qts. water & 4 t. beef boullion or
64 oz beef broth
2 T. olive oil
flour

Cut any fat off the meat and dredge in the flour. (Save remaining flour.) In large heavy pan add oil and brown meat. Add water or beef broth to meat. Add vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender, on low heat. Just before serving add left over flour to thicken.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup-My mom's version

One of my favorite memories of food has to be Chicken Noodle Soup that my mom made from scratch. I can remember coming home from school and seeing the noodles drying on the kitchen table or counter top and knowing that we were in for a treat for dinner. When I had my second daughter my mom came to stay with me for a week to lend a hand, I asked her to teach me how to make the noodles and soup. Little did I know that it would become a fun tradition in my own little family. I say little because the tradition began when they were all little. I also did not realize that she was just making egg noodles and I could have learned it from others but the experience was very fun.

It all begins with eggs, flour, and salt. Roughly two eggs per cup of flour and one t. salt.

Mix until the egg is blended into the flour and salt and makes a stiff flour ball.

Roll the flour ball out onto a flat surface as thin as you can get it. You will have to continue to add flour to keep the dough from sticking to the surface or the rolling pin.

Once you roll it out, generously flour the sheet and roll up cinnamon roll style.

Cut into thin rounds.

Then spread the noodles out onto the floured surface once again to dry. (I have a Kitchen Aid pasta maker but this creates a rough noodle which makes a rustic soup and gives the kids an opportunity to help in the process. Each one of my girls would always love to throw the noodles out on the surface from the time that they could stand on a chair beside me.) While the noodles are drying place a roasting chicken in a large pan and cover with water. Chop a medium onion into small chunks and add with a t. salt. Boil the chicken 45-60 minutes. When the chicken is done pull from the broth and set aside to cool. When completely cooled pull the chicken from the bones and cut into small cubes. Add the noodles to the broth and return the cut up chicken, the flour around the noodles will thicken the broth. Cook on medium heat until the noodles are soft and tender.

My girls loved to add the dried noodles to the pan and play with the strange shapes they dried into.

This will always remind me of my mom and it has become a family favorite for all of us.

For a close substitution you can use a rotisserie chicken from a local grocery store or Costco and use "Kluski" enriched egg noodles. They are pretty close to making the noodles yourself, but not nearly as much fun or traditional.

Uintah Eggs-Another Tradition

This recipe was created on a hunting trip by my husband. He then fixed it for us a part of our family camping trips and once in awhile breakfast at home. It is pretty simple but has loving been named Uintah Eggs for fun.

2 eggs per person, to scramble
1/2 yellow onion roughly diced
8-10 link sausages, cooked and cut up
1 c. Swiss Cheese, grated

Cook the sausage in a large skillet. While they cook crack and scramble the eggs in a bowl. After the sausage is done place on a plate and cut them up, remove some of the grease from the pan and saute the onions, cooking until slightly browned and opaque. Mix the eggs into the onions and occasionally turn until mostly cooked add the Swiss Cheese and mix in while eggs finish.

I love to cook even more!

Recently I had the opportunity to go to Honolulu with my husband who was on a business trip. During that time my family did a remodel of my kitchen. It was amazing that they were able to accomplish so much in such little time. Actually the killed themselves, but it was such a wonderful surprise. Any wonder I love to cook even more!

And after

The "While You Were Out" theme and T-shirts

What a wonderful family!

Halloween Revisited-Chili and Cornbread

(I had already done this one and made a mistake and messed up the post so I had to start over)

When the kiddles were little and did the Halloween Trick or Treat thing I always worried that they needed a good warm meal before they went out in the cold. I decided that we would make chili for dinner each Halloween. Originally I also bought doughnuts with the Halloween sprinkles to go along with it and later when I discovered the cornbread recipe I decided to do that instead of the doughnuts. The chili recipe came from my father-in-law which makes it even more fun for a tradition. I did learn, however, that this particular recipe doesn't work well if you are using dried beans in a slow cooker. My daughter, Jessica, tried it with canned kidney beans and varied spices and it worked well. I will attach her recipe later.

Dad Stevenson's Chili

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 green peppers chopped finely
2 onions, chopped finely
2 c celery, chopped
4 c chili beans, soaked
2-3 T. chili powder, more if you like it hotter
32 oz. canned tomatoes
salt to taste

Soak chili beans overnight. Cook beans until the skin slips when you blow on them.
Meanwhile, brown ground beef and vegetables. Mix all ingredients and cook on low for
hours. You may need to add water during cooking.

Corn Bread

1 c. melted butter or margarine
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 eggs
(mix together)

2 c. buttermilk
1 t. soda
(add to above mixture)

2 c. cornmeal
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
(add to prior mixture)

Bake in greased 9x13 pan in 350 ovens for 35 mins.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, pressed thin
4-6 thin slices of cooked ham, can be smoked
4-6 thin slices of Swiss cheese, to cover the meats
flour
dash nutmeg
egg
¼ c. water
crushed cornflakes
olive oil

Place chicken in reseal able plastic bag and pound to ¼ inch thickness throughout. Layer ham and cheese on top of the chicken and roll, secure with a toothpick or tie with butcher string. Dredge the roll in flour and nutmeg mixture then into the water and egg mixture. Finally place the roll into the cornflakes and cover well.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil. Place the Cordon Bleu into the pan and brown on all sides. Place into a 9x13 pan and place in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve over cooked and buttered egg noodles.

(These can be fixed ahead and frozen. After searing all sides, place into a container and freeze. Thaw out in the fridge and reheat to finish the cooking time. This is a great time saving method.)

Lasagna

Made with my Italian Sauce on the side bar

Lasagna noodles (do not need to be cooked ahead of time.)

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Grated Mozerella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Cottage Cheese

In a 9x13 pan place a little of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place uncooked lasagna noodles down cover with sauce, and a layer of each cheese. Repeat the process again. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. In the last 10 minutes of baking take the foil off to finish baking.

(This can be frozen after it is assembled. To thaw place in the refigerator the night before and bake until bubbly hot. You can also bake it frozen but it takes up to two hours. Smaller versions can be made as well.)

Rosemary Chicken

oilve oil
1 ½ lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs
1 9 oz. package frozen artichoke hearts
12 cloves garlic, minced ½ c. chopped onion
½ c. chicken broth
2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
1 t. finely shredded lemon peel
½ t. ground black pepper
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. cold waterlemon wedges, optional

Coat a skillet with olive oil. Preheat over medium heat. Borwn chicken, half at a time, in hot skillet. In a 3 ½ or 4 quart slow cooker, combine frozen artichoke hearts, garlic, and onion. In a small bowl combine broth, rosemary, lemon peel, and pepper. Pour over vegetables in slow cooker. Add browned chicken, spoon some of the garlic mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-7 hours, or on high setting for 3-4 hours. Transfer chicken and artichokes to a serving platter, reserving cooking fluid. Cover chicken and artichokes with foil to keep warm If using low heat turn to high heat setting. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and the cold water. Stir in to liquid in slow cooker. Cover and cook about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over the chicken and artichokes. Serve with lemon wedges, optional. Serves 6.

(This is a new one for me. I am always looking for slow cooker recipes that don't use the same old cream soups and have the same flavor, this one was good and worth sharing.)