Thanksgiving: Leftovers – Turkey Sandwich/Wrap

Turkey Sandwiches are a staple of thanksgiving leftovers. This was the wrap I made my husband for lunch today, using up the last of the leftovers I had in the fridge. Though everyone makes their sandwiches different, this is the way that I learned. You can make this recipe by heating things up as I do to eat it now, or you can make it cold and reheat it, or you can just eat it cold. I put below the recipe for a sandwich, but you can do the same process (minus mayo) for a wrap. As you can see from my photo, I layered stuffing, turkey, then cranberry sauce.

Toast your bread.
Microwave 1 cup of stuffing, and about 1/2 cup of turkey till warm, about 1 minute.
Mayo both inside faces of your bread if you desire.
Layer turkey on one face and pack stuffing onto other mayo face.
Cut a thin slice of cranberry sauce and place on top of stuffing.
Invert turkey bread onto stuffing mountain, consume.

To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!

December 5, 2019 1

Thanksgiving: Leftovers – Turkey Noodle Soup

2 cups of Turkey Cubed
8 cups of Turkey Stock (You can also use Chicken Broth)
Medium Onion (1 Cup)
Sage
Thyme
4 cups of Water
1 Chicken bouillon cube
About 6 oz of Egg Noodles
Salt

Start by Sauteing onion in a little bit of oil/butter in a Dutch Oven until translucent.
Add Turkey Stock and add cooked turkey. Bring to a simmer.
Add desired amount of herbs (I added 2 tsps of ground thyme and dried sage, but you can also add sprigs of herbs tied together, or add none if you already seasoned your stock).
Add about a half a bag of egg noodles, water, and a dissolved Chicken bouillon cube. Heat to a boil and cook covered till noodles are to your liking or about 25 minutes. Before serving, taste your broth and add more herbs and/or salt to taste (I added about 3 Tbsp of salt)

To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!

December 5, 2019 1

Thanksgiving: Aftermath – Stock

I had never made turkey stock before, but I know so many people say that stock is a must because it tastes so good. It also felt good to feel like I was using the entirety of the bird rather then throwing out a part that could be used; that is also part of the reason I tried cooking the giblets this year.

After thanksgiving and removing the meat from the bones, I placed plastic wrap over the carcass in the roasting pan and placed it in the fridge overnight and I don’t think that made a difference compared to cooking it right way. I took the largest pot I have, broke apart the bones as much as I could, put them into the pot, covered them with water, got the liquid to simmering with the lid on, then took the lid off and simmered it for 3 1/2 hours. You can also add herbs like sprigs of thyme and sage to get the thanksgiving flavor into the stock, or veggies like onion, garlic or celery.

I used no seasoning because my cat likes the flavor and I don’t want to give him something that is bad for cats, ie onion or garlic, from what I’ve heard.

If you choose not to season it like I did, I have found I need to add salt, because I like a more savory broth. I also add some onion, and sage and thyme to my soup when I’m cooking it.

Get largest pot, and place broken up turkey bones into pot (and neck if you kept it)
Cover bones in pot with water and get to a boil, add additional veggies/herbs
Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 3-3.5 hours
Place larger bones into strainer, then strain remaining stock through strainer into another dutch oven.
If you want less matter in you stock, strain again through cheese cloth
Sock is good in the fridge for a week or can be frozen for 3 months

To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!

December 3, 2019 2

Thanksgiving: Part 3 – Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a staple of thanksgiving, though this is how I make mashed potatoes all the time, especially since Josh loves mashed potatoes.

I’ve made mashed potatoes with a variety of potatoes, and I find yellow potatoes, Yukon Golds, and white potatoes to work the best. Russets are too starchy and need a lot of butter and salt to get any other flavor other than just starch. I like to make my cubes by quartering a medium potato to get thin strips of potatoes, then cutting them every half an inch. I have also added garlic to my potatoes before and really enjoyed that. I also like to add bit of parsley flakes on top after they come out of the oven/ on the plate. I also have added cheese before to the top of my potatoes before baking, and I prefer shredding white sharp cheddar cheese, but that’s just my favorite cheese, so you can choose what you like. This is a very forgiving recipe and there are many ways you can customize it to make it your own!

Wash, peel, and cube about 4-5 lbs of potatoes.
Place potatoes into a pot and rinse again 1-2 times, then fill pot with warm water and place over medium-high heat.
Once the potatoes are boiling or the water starts to get starchy, it should take about 20 minutes. The potatoes are done when you can stab a large piece with a fork, and the potato splits and falls off the fork. If you want less chunky mashed potatoes cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Strain your potatoes then put in a large bowl to beat with a hand mixer, or put in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Start pulsing low speed and add 1/2 a cup of milk and 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup).
Once most of the big chunks are broken up, turn your speed to medium-low and slowly add more milk until you reach your desired consistency. Add salt to taste. You can also add an optional tablespoon of garlic paste or 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, if you desire.
Optional: Place your potatoes into a casserole dish, add desired toppings (shredded cheese, butter, chives, etc), and heat in oven covered or uncovered to keep warm. If you cook uncovered, the top will gain color and the potatoes will also begin to rise, becoming more airy and losing moisture making them almost cake like. If you cook them covered, you won’t gain color and you will also lose less moisture.

To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!

December 3, 2019 2

Thanksgiving: Part 2 – Turkey

This year we received a fresh turkey as a gift from Josh’s work. The fresh turkey was locally raised and was never frozen. Because it was locally raised, it wasn’t as processed as other turkeys, so we had to wash off dirt residue and we chose not to eat the skin because of pin feathers, and frankly I didn’t have to time or motivation to pull them all out. So, I washed the bird, and removed the baggies of giblets and the neck, and placed it in the roasting pan with pads of butter and covering the top with foil. Josh and I would come back every 45 minutes to baste the turkey, and the last half an hour we left it uncovered in the oven to brown the skin before we let it rest for 20 minutes on the counter covered with foil.
We had a 20 pound turkey and we cooked it at 350 F for 4 1/4 hours with a thigh reading of 170 F (with the safe temp being 165 F).