Turkey Soup with Stuffing Biscuits

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog, and I didn't realize how bad it was until I flipped through the pictures I recently uploaded...whoops...I guess I was more distracted than I thought!

I made this the weekend after Thanksgiving with the last of the leftovers. It was pretty easy to make, and went much better than most of my broth based soup attempts! What is great about this recipe, is that you can adapt it to whatever your leftovers consist of, and most of the ingredients are probably already around your kitchen!

Turkey Soup with Stuffing Biscuits 
Yields 6 servings

To Prepare the Soup
1. Wash 1 pound of carrots, and cut them down into 1/4 inch thick rounds. 
2. Wash 2 pieces of celery, and cut them down into 1/4 inch thick slices. 
3. Peel and dice 1 small onion.
4. Once all of your veggies are diced, begin heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. 
5. When the oil is hot, add all of the veggies to the pan. 
6. Stir them and cook them until the onions are translucent and the celery is starting to get soft. 
7. Add 4 cans of chicken broth to the pot, and keep the pan over medium heat. 
8. Cut up leftover turkey or chicken.  I put in a large turkey breast, and it was a good amount.  You can add more or less depending on your particular tastes! 
9. I then added leftover wild rice from Thanksgiving dinner.  If you are going to add uncooked noodles, rice, or pasta, you might need to add extra broth to your soup as it cooks, otherwise it will quickly absorb the juice and your soup runs the risk of drying out and burning!  You can also precook it and then add it in like I did. 

10. Make adaptations to your liking...have leftover corn?  Toss it in!  Don't want to add grain?  Don't!  Take a look in your fridge and at your leftovers, and get creative!

To Prepare the Biscuits

1. On top of a cookie sheet, press leftover stuffing through a round cookie cutter until it is flush with the top of the cutter. 

2. Repeat this step until you are out of stuffing. 

3. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees. 
4. Keep an eye on them while they are cooking.  When the bottoms have started to brown, flip them over and cook them until the other side has browned.  Your cooking time will vary depending on your stuffing, and how moist or dry it is!

These are great for dipping in the soup too! 

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

It is the official start of my self proclaimed CASSEROLE WEEK!!!  Why casseroles, you may ask?  They are easy and cheap to make, are a great way to get left overs out of the fridge and freezer, and can be made a head of time and reheated!  Plus, casseroles are great for lunch the next day or two!  I know that some of you do not have ovens or access to them, so I would like to take a quick second here to tell you that you do not have to have an oven to enjoy a casserole!  All of the ingredients can be prepared and heated and then served on top of each other.  For example, with tonight's recipe, you can heat the green beans in the sauce while the chicken cooks, and then top with the stuffing mixture.  Sometimes, we just have to get a little creative to enjoy our kitchen and dinner!

I have made this casserole for some of my friends in the past, but never for my family, so it is new for my dad and sister...hopefully they will be digging in for seconds!

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Once the olive oil is hot, add 1 pound of chicken.  I used boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins!
4. While the chicken is cooking, start making the sauce by adding 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and 1 cup of white wine in a bowl and mixing it well.  (Be sure to pour yourself a glass of wine while you are at it!)

5. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a large casserole dish.

6. Put 2 pounds of thawed green beans in the casserole dish.

7. Evenly spread the cooked chicken on top of the green beans.

8. Cover the entire casserole with the remaining sauce.

9. Top with dry, seasoned stuffing cubes.

10. Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the stuffing is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling! 

Enjoy your casserole with a glass of white wine!