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! 

Waldorf Salad Croissant Sandwiches

Waldorf Salad found its start at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC.  It was actually created by a maitre d'hotel in 1896.  The original salad contained apples, celery, and mayonnaise.  Later, walnuts were added to the mix, and it is most commonly served on a bed of lettuce.  Here at our house, we prefer our Waldorf Salad as a post-Thanksgiving treat served on croissants!  

I guess I need to preface the history of this recipe with the story of the 53 pound Thanksgiving turkey.  My mom decided to buy a fresh kill, never frozen turkey for the 5 of us and some guests.  Worried that a 25 pounder would not be enough to feed us all, plus have leftovers, she asked the farm to give us the biggest turkey they could find.  53 pounds later, we were all REALLY sick and tired of turkey leftovers!  In an effort to mix things up, she suggested a new spin on Waldorf Salad to put a dent in the leftovers.  It was an immediate success and we still enjoy it, even when we don't have turkey leftovers! 

Waldorf Salad Croissant Sandwiches
Yields 6 sandwiches

To Prepare the Salad
1. Break up 2 cups worth of cold, leftover turkey or chicken into a decent size bowl.  If you don't want to use leftovers, you can substitute this with canned chicken breast (the kind that comes like tuna).  Just be sure that you strain it of as much juice as possible!
2. Chop 2 cups worth of peeled apples.  I like to use a sweet apple such as a gala or honeycrisp.  I would avoid anything in the sour family!  Add these apples to the bowl.

3. Add 1/2 a cup of Craisins, and 1/2 a cup of raisins to the bowl. Sometimes we also add 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts, but that is usually when I have leftovers from baking!

4. Bring everything together with 3/4 cup of mayo or light mayo.

5. Serve the salad in a croissant, or if you prefer, a super hearty multi-grain wheat bread.  I like to throw a side of baked potato chips on the plate too!

Cheesy Turkey Casserole

This is a recipe my mom came up with about 10 years ago the week after Thanksgiving!  After cooking a 50 pound turkey (for 5 people), we had TONS of leftover turkey!  We also had a lot of Wild Rice leftover, too.  All of the leftovers, combined with my mom's need to sneak my brother and sister veggies, brought this recipe to life!


Cheesy Turkey Casserole
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Prepare 2 boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice per the directions on the box.
3. While the rice is cooking, pan sear approximately 1 pound of turkey in olive oil over medium heat.  You could also use chicken, or even ground turkey or chicken...just be sure, whichever you choose, that you cook it!  If you are using leftover turkey or chicken, you will just need to break it up into 1 inch pieces!
4. Pour the rice into a large casserole dish, and spread it out evenly. 

5. Next you will need to prepare 2 1/2 pounds of broccoli.  I used chopped frozen broccoli that I thawed.  If you are going to use fresh broccoli, you will need to boil it first!  Once your broccoli is either defrosted or cooked, spread it evenly across the rice!

6. Spread the meat evenly on top of the broccoli layer.

7. Top the whole casserole with 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese.

8. Bake the casserole for approximately 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown!