Tag Archives: turkey

Slow Cooker Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

8 Apr

This past weekend, we had a turkey breast for our Easter lunch. We had some of the meat left, and I decided to make broth with the bones. Knowing that Chicken, Spinach, and Wild Rice Soup is always a hit in our house, I figured that a version with turkey would be good as well. Since this week is busy for us, I wanted to try this out in the slow cooker since I would time to work on it in the morning, but not in the evening at dinner time. It was so easy to throw it all together and just let it sit and cook all day. Although, I ended up picking a day I was actually home all day, so I had to smell it cooking!

This could be done with cooked chicken and chicken broth if you don’t have turkey. You could also use 4 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They will cook as the rest of the soup cooks, and then you would shred the chicken when you add the milk and flour.

Turkey and Wild Rice SoupSlow Cooker Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

What you need:

1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped into thin rounds
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning blend OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme and 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked wild rice
8 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons flour or cornstarch

How to make it:

Add all ingredients except milk and flour to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.

Whisk together the milk and flour in a small bowl. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes until soup is thickened.

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Leftover Turkey Dinner Ideas

3 Dec

After our big Thanksgiving day meal, we took a few days off from turkey.  So, last night and tonight I wanted to get through the leftover turkey.  Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Noodle Soup.  Both turned out well!  And were rather easy to put together.

Turkey Pot PieTurkey Pot Pie

What you need:

1/4 cup butter
1 cup diced onion
2 cups cooked turkey, diced, shredded, or cubed
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups turkey or chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
2 cups frozen vegetable mix (I used a peas, carrots, green beans, and corn mix)
1 9 inch refrigerated pie crust

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until soft and translucent.  Add turkey.  Sprinkle in flour, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Stir constantly and cook for about 5 minutes.  Pour in broth and milk, continuing to stir to avoid lumps forming.  Stir in the frozen vegetables.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, and continue and continue to cook for about 5-10 minutes, until mixture thickens.

Pour mixture into a 2 quart round casserole dish.  Place the pie crust over the top of the mixture and press crust into the sides of the dish.  Cut vents in the crust.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden and mixture is bubbly.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes to cool before serving.

 

Turkey Noodle SoupTurkey Noodle Soup

What you need:

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cups cook turkey, diced, shredded or cubed
8 cups turkey or chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 oz uncooked egg noodles
2 cups frozen vegetable mix (I used a peas, carrots, green beans, and corn mix)

How to make it:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until soft and translucent.  Add turkey.  Pour in turkey or chicken broth.  Sprinkle in thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Bring back to a boil.  Add noodles to the pot.  After 5 minutes, add frozen vegetables.  Continue to boil for another 5 minutes, or until noodles are soft and vegetables are heated through.

 

 

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Thanksgiving Menu 2013

25 Nov

It’s that time of year again, and I’m excited to cook up a big meal!  Of course, it’s most likely just going to be my little family of 4, but we will still go through the leftovers in no time!  This year, I am planning on having:

  • Turkey: I got a 13.5 pound turkey for $0.49/pound from Safeway.  It was a Personalized Deal from their Just for U program, that if I spent $25, I got an 8-24 pound turkey for $0.49/pound.  I also got a 12 pound turkey from Fry’s, it was $0.79/pound when I spent $25.  The first turkey is already in the refrigerator thawing, the second turkey is in my deep freeze to eat at another time.  If you have questions about thawing your turkey, the USDA has good information here.
  • Mashed potatoes: I splurged and got gold potatoes for our mashed potatoes this year.  They weren’t on sale like russet potatoes were, but I really prefer gold potatoes.  I will leave the skins on, and prepare them like this: http://wp.me/p1ORT6-2z
  • Bread and Celery dressing: My absolute favorite!  The last couple of years I used a loaf of bread to make the dressing, but this year I will be “cheating” and bought a box of Mrs. Cubbison’s to cut down on prep time a little.  We’ll see if it measures up to my regular recipe: http://wp.me/p1ORT6-bt
  • Wild Rice and Sausage dressing: I went back and forth on making this dish this year.  However, since I have a lot of breakfast sausage in my freezer from Zaycon Foods and wild rice was on sale at Safeway, I decided it was making the list.  This is a recipe I got from my aunt, and it has been in close competition with bread and celery dressing as my favorite dish: http://wp.me/p1ORT6-bp
  • Green Bean Casserole: I will be using green beans from my freezer that were fresh green beans from a Market on the Move event earlier this year.  I will also not be using a can of cream of mushroom soup, I will be making my own creamy soup base with cut up mushrooms.  I’m undecided on the onions, I may use fresh, diced onion in place of the French’s fried onions.  It won’t have the crunch on top like with the fried onions, though.  Stay tuned for the results!
  • Cranberry sauce: Last year was my first year making cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries, and I have some in my freezer, so I will be making it again!  I don’t know what took me so long to finally make it, although I may substitute honey for the sugar in it this year: http://wp.me/p1ORT6-zh
  • Dinner Rolls:  I’m horrible at baking (I blame the altitude), so I bought brown and serve rolls from Safeway.
  • Sweet Potato Pie: Yes, different from the traditional pumpkin pie, but delicious in its own right: http://wp.me/p1ORT6-bD  Which reminds me, I better remember to thaw the pie crust!

So, what is on your menu for this year?

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Cheddar Turkey Casserole

4 Dec

Cheddar Turkey Casserole

 

Yes, I still have Thanksgiving turkey!  This time, I wanted to make a casserole, but I don’t have anymore canned “cream of” soups, so I needed a recipe that doesn’t use them.  I searched on the Taste of Homes website, and came across this recipe.  Really wasn’t too time consuming, and was very tasty!

 

Cheddar Turkey Casserole
Original recipe here

What you need:

4 cups uncooked pasta, like rotini or farfalle
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup bread crumbs

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot.

While pasta is cooking, saute garlic in butter in a large skillet until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, mustard, thyme, pepper, and frozen veggies. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted.

Drain the cooked pasta and return to the large pot. Mix in turkey and cheese sauce.

Spray a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish with non-stick spray. Evenly spread the turkey-pasta mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  At this point, casserole can be baked or frozen:

Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until heated through.  Serve immediately.

Or

Freeze casserole, covered, for up to 3 months.  To use frozen casserole, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake according to directions above. 

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Turkey Quesadillas

29 Nov

We are still working on all the leftover turkey here!  My husband had wanted enchiladas, which I didn’t have enough time to get together, so we had quesadillas instead.  To start, I put 2 cups chopped turkey and 2 cups salsa in a skillet over medium-low heat and cooked about 15 minutes to let the salsa set in to the turkey.  Then, in a different skillet, I put a tortilla (these are the small flour tortillas from Bountiful Baskets), then some of the chicken and salsa mixture, then shredded Mexican blend cheese, and folded the tortilla over.  I cooked for a few minutes on each side until the tortilla browned.  I then served with sour cream and homemade guacamole.  It was a big hit in my house!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

22 Nov

Well, another Thanksgiving meal has come and gone for our household.  Not really gone, because we have plenty of leftovers, but the big task of cooking it all is done.  I had my 2 little helpers this morning while I cooked, and I love that I get to cook and share the joy of making food with them.  I wanted to get a picture of the whole spread, but didn’t get a chance, but here is a plate with all we had:

So, starting top at going clockwise, here is what we had:

Turkey: Fresh, organic 21.5 pound turkey from Grateful Harvest, ordered through the Sierra Vista Food Co-op.  It cost a bit more than what I normally spend, but I think it was worth it.  It tasted amazing!  Although, I did use my “cheat” this year again, using a Reynolds Oven Bag, to cook the turkey.  I added cut up onion, celery, and carrots to the bag, rubbed the turkey in olive oil and poultry seasoning.  Sometimes, I think simpler is better!  The broth the collected in the bottom I kept for gravy.  Now, the turkey carcass is split up between my 2 slow cookers with new onions, celery, and carrots, plus water, to make turkey stock.  I’m going to have a lot of turkey stock, which is good since I haven’t made chicken stock in a while.

Dinner rolls: Ordered in my Custom FarmBox from Sunizona Family Farms bakery.  We love their sprouted Khorasan bread, and these are made with the same sprouted Khorasan wheat.  Delicious!

Mashed potatoes:  Red potatoes from Sunizona Family Farms, 2 pounds.  Left the skins on, diced, and cooked until soft.  Mashed and mixed in a stick of butter, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 tablespoon fresh chives, also from Sunizona Family Farms.

Wild Rice & Sausage Dressing: Recipe here.  Used Lundberg’s wild rice blend, then celery and onion from Bountiful Basktets and fresh parsley from Sunizona Family Farms.

Bread & Celery Dressing: Recipe here.  This year, I used Special Spelt bread from the Sunizona Family Farms bakery, and celery and onion from Bountiful Baskets.

Green Bean Casserole: Recipe here.  I used fresh green beans from Sunizona Family Farms to make it.  I really like this, but I really want to find an alternative to using cream of mushroom soup in a can.  I’ll be experimenting over the year to see what I can come up with.

Cranberry Sauce:  I used cranberries and oranges from Bountiful Baskets to make this.  This was a lot easier than I thought!  Here is how to make it.

What you need:

12 oz bag of fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)
1/2 – 1 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you want it (I used 1/2 cup)
Juice of 3 oranges, or 1 cup orange juice

How to make it:

Dissolve sugar in orange juice over medium heat.  Add cranberries, and cook until cranberry skins have cracked and a gel starts to form, about 15-20 minutes.  Pour into serving bowl and sauce will set more as it cools.  

 

Sweet Potato Pie (not pictured): Recipe here.  I used sweet potatoes from Sunizona Family Farms.

 

It really turned out to be a great meal that my family and I all really enjoyed!  I hope that everyone else had a great Thanksgiving day as well!

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Turkey Cranberry Wreath

4 Mar

 

I guess I should really call this just a Turkey Wreath since I don’t normally add in cranberry.  I saw this demonstrated at a Pampered Chef party, and I believe it is from one of their cookbooks.  This is perfect to make with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but I didn’t get to make it this year because I used my leftovers in other ways. This would also be good with chicken in place of the turkey.  The pictures I have are from when I first made it 3 years ago so that I would remember how to make it the next time.  Unfortunately, I thought to take the pictures a little too late, but it at least helps some visually.

 

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

What you need:

2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I usually leave these out)
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded (I sometimes use shredded mozzarella)
1/4 C. walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped
1 egg, separated

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, mix together turkey, celery, cranberries, cheese, walnuts, mayonnaise, mustard, black pepper and parsley.  Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Separate crescent roll dough into 16 triangles.  Arrange 8 triangles in a circle with wide ends of triangles toward the center on a large round baking stone. The corners of wide ends should overlap and points will extend 1 inch beyond baking stone.  Arrange the remaining 8 triangles in center, matching the wide ends together. Seal the wide end seams using a roller.  The points of these 8 triangles will overlap in the center, do not seal them together.

Lift the inner dough triangles across the filling and tuck under other side of filling.  They should go over on a diagonal, however, in my picture below, they look folded straight over.

 

Continue with the outer triangles, lifting them over the filling and at the opposite diagonal direction from the inner triangles.


Beat egg white of the separated egg lightly; brush over dough. Discard the yoke.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut and serve.

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Creamy Turkey Vegetable Pasta Casserole

25 Nov

I always buy a much bigger turkey than I need for Thanksgiving.  There are usually some good deals to be found on them, so it’s a good opportunity to get a larger one than needed and use the leftovers for other dishes or to freeze for another time.  With mine, I was envisioning some kind of casserole bake with turkey, pasta, and vegetables, namely, California blend vegetables, which are broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  Of course, I couldn’t find an exact recipe of what I wanted, so I read a bunch of similar recipes and came up with this.  Experimenting is a tough thing to do, you never know how it will turn out.  But, if you know what kind of things you like to eat, and do some reading about how you would like to approach a dish, your results will most likely come out good.  If not, there is always pizza delivery!

Creamy Turkey Vegetable Pasta Casserole

What you need:

1 pound pasta, like rotini or fusilli
1 16 oz package frozen California blend vegetables, thawed
2 cups cooked turkey, shredded (could also use cooked chicken)
2 10 3/4 oz cans of cream of chicken soup (could also use cream of mushroom)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp Italian seasoning blend
1/2 cup bread crumbs

How to make it:

Cook pasta al dente according to the directions on the box.  Meanwhile, in another large pot, add vegetables, turkey, soup, milk, and Italian seasoning blend.  Heat on medium-low heat until well blended.  Pour over pasta and mix well.  Grease a 13×9 casserole dish and pour in pasta mixture.  Spread evenly.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for 5 minutes longer, or until casserole is bubbling.

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