Use Turkey Left Overs

It's always better to have too much food than not enough. But if you take such advice to heart during Thanksgiving, what do you do with all that left over turkey? This article will offer some scrumptious ideas.

Steps

 * 1) [[Image:Gary's soup from Thanksgiving turkey leftovers 432.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make Turkey Soup -
 * 2) *Slow cooker turkey soup. Throw the turkey bones that remain after carving into a slow cooker with some broth, vegetables, and seasonings to make a delicious soup. You can also add the stuffing: How to Make Turkey and Stuffing Dumpling Soup.
 * 3) *Turkey noodle, rice or matzo ball soup. After stripping off most (but not all!) of the meat off the bones for other dishes, put the bones in a pot with one onion (cut in quarters), two carrots (chopped into 1" pieces), two stalks of celery (chopped into 1" pieces), one bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Cover with cold water. Simmer for a few hours to make your own turkey broth. Then either let cool, or strain the bones out of the broth. Strip all the remaining little bits of meat off the bones (a messy job, but worth it). Throw the bones away, and put the meat in with the rest of the broth and vegetables. Add noodles, rice or matzo balls, and enjoy a few more almost free meals!
 * 4) [[Image:Tater Tot Turkey Casserole 8487.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make turkey casserole - Toss the turkey in a casserole dish with left over stuffing (or tater tots), cream of mushroom soup, and milk (or white wine) and put it in the oven.
 * 5) [[Image:IXS_8461 8805.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make Turkey Curry - Be careful...turkey curry is so flavourful that you might start making your curries with turkey more often!
 * 6) [[Image:Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich Porn, Volume 4, crossanwich 2 9219.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make a Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich - This is pretty straightforward and classic. Throw all of your left over turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce (along with any other Thanksgiving meal elements) between two slices of any kind of bread and enjoy. Place on a submarine roll and spread with mayo for a Delaware specialty. Another idea is to Make Barbecue Turkey Sandwiches. For a nice touch, Make a Panini!
 * 7) Make Turkey pot Pie. Do you have extra turkey and gravy? You're in luck! You can make a turkey pot pie that's better than anything you can buy in a store. Make a double (bottom and top) pie crust. Bake the empty bottom of the crust for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, cook some onions, chopped carrots, celery, and potatoes until just tender, add some frozen peas and corn, and your leftover gravy and turkey. You can also add some herbs and spices (salt & pepper, thyme, sage, etc.). Thicken or thin as needed to make a very heavy, thick mixture. You can even add some leftover stuffing to make it thicker, if you like. Pour it into the baked pie shell, add a top crust, and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
 * 8) [[Image:Cranberry_sauce_600.jpg|thumb|200px]]Make Cranberry and Cheddar Turkey Snacks - Get out the left over cranberry sauce, a box of crackers and some turkey and enjoy!
 * 9) [[Image:Beet Salad 7214.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make a Turkey Salad - Mix the left over turkey with boiled potato cubes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, chopped celery, chopped onion, and mix. For a green salad, top a bed of lettuce or spinach with the left over turkey along with fresh cranberries, cucumber slices, cashew nuts, and a cranberry or honey mustard dressing.
 * 10) [[Image:Smoked-Turkey-Omelette-4022.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make a Turkey Omelette or frittata for a wholesome breakfast.
 * 11) [[Image:"Shredded turkey On tacos Now i've seen everything!" 5209.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make Turkey Tacos - Follow the steps in How to Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos, but substitute the left over turkey instead of the chicken. It'll get soft in the slow cooker and shred easily.
 * 12) [[Image:Turkey and Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice 7352.jpg|thumb|250px]]Make Turkey Fried Rice - Take some turkey meat and dice it up in some fried rice for a delicious flavor.
 * 13) Make Turkey Hash - Take some turkey meat and dice it,  and fry it in a hot pan until brown.   Add equal parts stuffing, mashed potatoes/squash, and again fry until brown, stirring occasionally.  Serve with a drizzle of leftover gravy on top for a wonderful breakfast.
 * 14) Freeze the left over left overs. Follow the steps in How to Prevent Freezer Burn and make sure you eat the turkey within 6 months for best flavor.

Tips

 * You can also throw the left over turkey onto a pizza. One option is to coat the turkey in barbecue sauce beforehand.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make Leftovers Into Tasty New Meals
 * How to Make Turkey Soup
 * How to Make Turkey Curry
 * How to Make a Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich