A lot of people love turkey. It is healthier and often times less expensive than other main dish options. However, to get the best deal out of a turkey purchase it is usually best to buy a whole turkey rather than a turkey breast or roast. But the question remains: What do you do with the leftovers? Below are steps that will help you to get three meals out of a single turkey purchase. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Purchase a turkey of a decent size from your local grocery market. The exact weight will be dependent upon the number of guests you intend to have at each of the three meals that the bird will serve. If you don't already have the ingredients for recipe one and two on hand, purchase those at the same time.
2. Thaw the turkey inside the refrigerator until you are ready to prepare your first turkey meal.
3. Prepare the turkey for roasting. Remove all of the accessory pieces inside of the bird's cavity. Make certain that the turkey's legs are bound by string or rubber bands to hold the bird in place during roasting.
4. Brush a bit of olive oil over the top or the turkey, breast side up.
5. Season the turkey according to your preferences.
6. Stuff the turkey with your favorite dressing.
7. Roast the turkey for about three hours for a bird between 8 and 14 lbs. A stuffed turkey will require more roasting time than one that is not stuffed. Cover the turkey with a tin tent for the first two hours of cooking and then remove. Once the turkey achieves the desired "roasted" look, return the tent to its position until the bird is done.
8. Remove the turkey once it is roasted to your liking and serve with the rest of your pre-planned meal.
9. After the first meal, remove the remaining turkey from the bones. Separate light and dark meat and store until ready to make your second meal.
10. For meal number two, make a homemade turkey pie. Use about one half of both the white and dark meat from the remaining turkey leftovers, chopped into bite sized pieces.
11. Add the chopped turkey to one can of cream of chicken and one half-can of cream of mushroom soup.
12. Add in one can of small pearlized onions and one package of mixed vegetables of your choice.
13. Mix in one cup of water and stir to blend everything thoroughly. Taste and add seasonings like salt and pepper as desired.
14. Pour the mixture into one pre-prepared pie crust. Use the other pie crust to top the turkey pie, brushing a bit of butter across the top and cutting two or three slits for venting purposes.
15. Bake the turkey pie in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until browned to the level that you like).
16. Serve your second turkey meal.
17.For turkey meal number three, finely chop the remaining turkey leftovers.
18. Dice one medium-sized onion and mix together with the turkey.
19. Pour the turkey and onions into a large mixing bowl and add 1 to 2 tbsp. for parsley, 1/2 tsp. of pepper and 1/2 tsp. of dill and mix again.
20. Add enough mayonnaise to make a good consistency of turkey salad. The exact amount of mayo used will be dependent upon the amount of turkey leftover meat used.
21. Add a half package of dried cranberries and one-quarter cup of finely chopped pecans into the turkey salad and mix thoroughly. You may need to add more mayo to the mixture in order to maintain the turkey salad consistency that you want.
22. Add salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.
23. Serve the turkey salad on a croissant for a light, yet delicious lunch or stuff the turkey salad into hollowed out tomatoes for a beautiful luncheon presentation. To add a bit of sweetness to the salad, stuff it into a hollowed out pineapple shell and let sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.
Tags: turkey salad, remaining turkey, turkey meal, dark meat, dependent upon