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some will get thrown away, some will be given to our guests to take home, the rest will be used..The turkey bones will make our turkey stock, which I always have lots of 1 or 1 1/2 cup plasitc bags in the freezer. Of course turkey soup and the best, turkey sandwhiches. Left over potatoes make great potato pancakes and the veggies wrggieoaotes can be used just heated up a few days later or put into soup, depending on what kind of veggies were served. Jello salad, if there is one, normally fed to the garbage disposal. And the desserts, well, again, it depends on who has come to the house and what they are. Of course if there is a ham, as well, there are a lot of things you can do with a ham...
I love stuffing. But I stopped putting it in the bird. I bake it in muffin tins and call it "Stuffin' Muffins", a la Rachael Ray. Most of the portions get eaten right away, so it's good to make extra and freeze the leftovers. You can pull out one or two whenever you have a poultry dish - even in the middle of Summer!
As for the rest of the Thanksgiving leftovers, we always ate them. Never any restriction on what you could eat when you raided the fridge.
My mother makes Pennsylvania Dutch Turkey Pot Pie out of the turkey carcass. It's almost as worth waiting for as the Thanksgiving dinner itself. She cooks off the leftover carcass, cuts up the meat, then makes homemade "Bot Boi" (Pa Dutch flat noodles), and cooks them in the broth with onions, parsley and carrots. It is to die for!
I'm really enjoying reading everyone's posts! It's nice to see a wide range of reactions to Thanksgiving leftovers. Everything from, "They get tossed," to gourmet comfort foods!
I'm getting some really great ideas. Personally, I'll be alone this Thanksgiving. I don't have any family and my friends are all going out of town. The places I usually volunteer at are overwhelmed with help already. I don't mind spending the day alone, though! I'll have a blast making my 13.44 pound turkey and all the sides whittled down to mini portions. Except the mashed potatoes and gravy... my favorite!
I'll be referring to this thread often, so I hope folks will keep the ideas coming! I'll have enough turkey to try almost everything once! (I've received PM's from others who are grateful for this thread, too, so ya'll are helping folks out!)
REQUEST: I love making homemade stock! I was just wondering... those of you who WILL be making turkey stock, how do you make yours? Do you roast the bones again? What veggies, herbs, spices, extras do you add while it simmers? I've been in a huge cooking mood lately and have the urge to try new recipes lately.
I love making homemade stock! I was just wondering... those of you who WILL be making turkey stock, how do you make yours? Do you roast the bones again? What veggies, herbs, spices, extras do you add while it simmers? I've been in a huge cooking mood lately and have the urge to try new recipes lately.
Happy to see I'm not the only one who could not bear to throw the picked clean carcass in the trash. My own mom taught us to never waste a scrap. Skin, gristle, bones from the roast turkey as well as pan drippings goes into the stockpot. (Make gravy with frozen stock.) Since I have a dog, I deeply score a couple onions and put them into cheesecloth with some bay leaves to be discarded later. Also I do not cook with salt. Anything on hand gets sliced and diced and thrown in: carrots, turnips, celery, garlic, chilis, spinach, cilantro, parsley, plenty fresh ground pepper. A good opportunity to use up stuff. If there are chicken carcasses or bones in the freezer, I throw them in too along with the neck etc. I do not use the liver in the stock, cook it separately for the dog. Water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer. It can simmer all day. When done, I put solid items--large hunks of carrot and other vegetables as well as turkey pieces -- in a container to add to dog food for a few days. Onions, bones, and bay leaves go into the trash. Strained stock itself sits overnight in the fridge till it can be skimmed of fat. I freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions. Don't think you can go wrong by improvising and making it your own way.
btw ... we feast on sliced turkey sandwiches with lettuce and mayo and lots of pepper.
I give away plenty of sliced turkey too.
My family likes Creamed Turkey over Cornbread or Rice. We also do the usual sandwiches and soups, but Creamed Turkey over Cornbread is the most requested.
Happy to see I'm not the only one who could not bear to throw the picked clean carcass in the trash. My own mom taught us to never waste a scrap. Skin, gristle, bones from the roast turkey as well as pan drippings goes into the stockpot. (Make gravy with frozen stock.) Since I have a dog, I deeply score a couple onions and put them into cheesecloth with some bay leaves to be discarded later. Also I do not cook with salt. Anything on hand gets sliced and diced and thrown in: carrots, turnips, celery, garlic, chilis, spinach, cilantro, parsley, plenty fresh ground pepper. A good opportunity to use up stuff. If there are chicken carcasses or bones in the freezer, I throw them in too along with the neck etc. I do not use the liver in the stock, cook it separately for the dog. Water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer. It can simmer all day. When done, I put solid items--large hunks of carrot and other vegetables as well as turkey pieces -- in a container to add to dog food for a few days. Onions, bones, and bay leaves go into the trash. Strained stock itself sits overnight in the fridge till it can be skimmed of fat. I freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions. Don't think you can go wrong by improvising and making it your own way.
btw ... we feast on sliced turkey sandwiches with lettuce and mayo and lots of pepper.
I give away plenty of sliced turkey too.
That sounds a lot like what I do, actually. When it comes to making stock, I try not to use many herbs, though. I use a lot of herbs in my cooking so I like my stock to be less savory and more meaty tasting. This year, I'm going to get some smoked ham hocks to add to the broth to give it a little smoked flavor. I've never used spinach, though, and I'm interested to add that and see how much of a difference it makes.
I'm with you on the salt. If I can it, I do use salt as a preservative, though. I have a massive pressure canner and plan to use that pot to make my stock this year. (Homemade stock is one of my favorite things!) Any veggies that get used (onion, garlic, carrots, celery, etc.,) will all get roasted first. I've found that really intensifies the flavor and the broth comes out darker and richer.
I have tomorrow (Sunday) off and plan to make my full Thanksgiving dinner then. Why wait? If Santa puts coal in my stocking for having Thanksgiving early this year, then so be it! I like being unconventional! A friend is stopping by tomorrow, too, so they'll be in for a nice surprise!
Thanks so much for your suggestions, HarryLou! I'm excited to put them to use! As for now, I'm off to work. I have a short day today. 1-7pm. (I work at Trader Joe's so no extra trips to the grocery store!) I have to pick up some things anyway for others that don't have Trader Joe's near them. I love that TJ's carries a lot of things other stores don't!
In all honesty, it is just myself and my kids, so I make a small turkey and there are not many leftovers really. If there are any it would be making sandwiches.
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