Gee’s it Thanksgiving, I wonder what this week’s Let’s Blog Off topic might be about? And wow, I have never seen Rufus (aka @DogWalkBlog) so excited; his tail & ears have been perked up like you wouldn’t believe, so it is must either be about naps, going for a walk, or FOOD.
I get a sneaky feeling that they didn’t get enough recipe’s in last year’s question, (What’s your favorite part about Thanksgiving?) so they were a little more direct this year. It’s Thanksgiving, so let’s blog about food… “So what’s a good Thanksgiving food memory for you? Tell us story about memorable Thanksgivings past or pass along a recipe or two. What’s on your table every year that makes your Thanksgiving yours?” As always I invite & encourage you to check out the rest of the bloggers on this year’s take which we will include at the end. (Quick side note – as I am so late writing this, I got to read a lot of them & I don’t think you will be disappointed.)
While this may sound strange, for me, the best part about Thanksgiving is actually the leftovers. Seeing my wife has a propensity of cooking for a small army when she gets a chance to cook (granted she is getting better, but even when we had 6 kids to feed; that still doesn’t even make a platoon, much less an army), there was generally plenty of leftovers. As you can imagine, I had a few tricks up my sleeve for dealing with leftovers, without burning everyone out on Turkey & Ham for the next 2 or 3 weeks (or it going bad). So here are two of my favorite 1 pot leftover meals I liked to make that serve 8 to 12 (generally 8 with 2 lunch portions).
Leftover Turkey Casserole:
- 1 large can mushroom soup
- 4 cups rice
- 4 celery stalks – sliced & halved (if needed – about ½” x ¾”)
- 3 or 4 carrots – sliced & quartered (if needed – basically about dime sized ¼” thick)
- Turkey – depends on how much you want but generally 2 cups diced to ¾” pieces
- Seasonings – Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Basil, lots of Parsley, & anything else you think might be good (no I never really measured – I also hardly put salt in anything, if needed I will generally substitute it with Mrs. Dash®)
- Optional but adds sweetness, a unique flavor & texture: leftover corn (not on the cob), cranberry sauce (not the jelly), maple syrup
Mix all the above together in a mixing bowl plus 2-4 cups of water or broth (don’t worry there is liquid in the soup & other ingredients for the rice) & place in casserole bowl or 9×13 glass pan sprayed with Pam
To top it off, I generally use the 1 cup pancake recipe from the box of Bisquick® & add in a little maple syrup & cinnamon to the mix
Pour that on top, spray a piece of aluminum foil with Pam (if you are going the glass pan route)& place in an oven at 350° for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, pull it out & make sure rice is basically done, uncover & allow for it to brown. Let it cool for 5 minutes & serve with a garden salad
Ham & Eggs:
- In a non-stick frying pan add ½ cup maple syrup, seasonings (see above recipe) and approx. ½ stick of butter. Turn on low & allow pan to heat up while dicing ham in to ½” to ¾” pieces (approx. 2 cups worth or more)
- Turn heat up, and place ham in pan thoroughly coating it & allowing it to cook. Turn heat off & place ham on plate leaving as much liquids & spices in pan. If needed you can add more butter in the pan. Grab a baker’s dozen of eggs & turn pan back on low, crack all eggs directly into the pan, add a few cranks of pepper & then scramble together.
- Turn heat up to medium & keep stirring them, scraping bottom till you reach the point that 50 to 75% of the egg is now solid. Quickly add the ham back in, stirring it together & cooking until the eggs are fully cooked to your liking. (For me that means they are golden brown & no liquid is left)
- Plate it directly & serve with a garden salad
For additional Thanksgiving & Holiday tips, tricks, a list of 1-800-Bail-Me-Out numbers, I encourage you to check out our article for last year’s Lets Blog Off. With that, from my family to yours Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I have been semi-retired for many years now. I say that
because I long since gave up a paying job, but I still have plenty of
woodworking to keep me busy as I remodel our home. The upshot of that is my eating
a lot of sandwiches for lunch, so I very much like the turkey and ham leftovers
for that purpose. But growing up poor, as I did, we had those turkey leftovers
in every conceivable way. Casseroles were a mainstay, of course. And, finally,
when it seemed there wasn’t another damned thing my mother could do with that
leftover turkey, she popped the carcass into a pot and made soup! From that day
to this, I use the leftovers ONLY for sandwiches!
I have been semi-retired for many years now. I say that
because I long since gave up a paying job, but I still have plenty of
woodworking to keep me busy as I remodel our home. The upshot of that is my eating
a lot of sandwiches for lunch, so I very much like the turkey and ham leftovers
for that purpose. But growing up poor, as I did, we had those turkey leftovers
in every conceivable way. Casseroles were a mainstay, of course. And, finally,
when it seemed there wasn’t another damned thing my mother could do with that
leftover turkey, she popped the carcass into a pot and made soup! From that day
to this, I use the leftovers ONLY for sandwiches!
Great recipes Sean. Sadly at our family’s Thanksgiving there tends to be very little “left over”. I guess that’s testimony to the cooks and all of us who tend to over eat. Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s my kind of casserole. Look’s delicious. I definitely like this topic – been collecting recipes all over the web today. Time to go shopping this afternoon.
Great recipes Sean, My leftovers tend to get thrown into a soup pot and I eat turkey soup for days after Thanksgiving passes. Maybe it’s time to branch out!
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
Happy Thnksgiving and enjoy those leftovers!
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy those leftovers!
Sorry for the belated thanks & I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Joe I hear you loud and clear, of course, the ham & eggs might be right up your alley or maybe substitute the ham with steak. Of course right now, a Turkey sandwich does sound good
enjoy thanksgiving..thanks for posting..
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
That’s my kind of casserole. Look’s delicious. I definitely like this topic – been collecting recipes all over the web today. Time to go shopping this afternoon.
Great recipes Sean. Sadly at our family’s Thanksgiving there tends to be very little “left over”. I guess that’s testimony to the cooks and all of us who tend to over eat. Happy Thanksgiving!
I have been semi-retired for many years now. I say that
because I long since gave up a paying job, but I still have plenty of
woodworking to keep me busy as I remodel our home. The upshot of that is my eating
a lot of sandwiches for lunch, so I very much like the turkey and ham leftovers
for that purpose. But growing up poor, as I did, we had those turkey leftovers
in every conceivable way. Casseroles were a mainstay, of course. And, finally,
when it seemed there wasn’t another damned thing my mother could do with that
leftover turkey, she popped the carcass into a pot and made soup! From that day
to this, I use the leftovers ONLY for sandwiches!
Sorry for the belated thanks & I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Joe I hear you loud and clear, of course, the ham & eggs might be right up your alley or maybe substitute the ham with steak. Of course right now, a Turkey sandwich does sound good
I have been semi-retired for many years now. I say that
because I long since gave up a paying job, but I still have plenty of
woodworking to keep me busy as I remodel our home. The upshot of that is my eating
a lot of sandwiches for lunch, so I very much like the turkey and ham leftovers
for that purpose. But growing up poor, as I did, we had those turkey leftovers
in every conceivable way. Casseroles were a mainstay, of course. And, finally,
when it seemed there wasn’t another damned thing my mother could do with that
leftover turkey, she popped the carcass into a pot and made soup! From that day
to this, I use the leftovers ONLY for sandwiches!
It was just my mom and my brother so we always had lots of leftovers. The Friday after Thanksgiving was always used to fill the old TV Trays (collected through the year) with leftovers and then pop ’em in the freezer. It was a fast way (before microwaves) to have a homemade delicious meal!
Happy Thnksgiving and enjoy those leftovers!
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy those leftovers!
Great recipes Sean, My leftovers tend to get thrown into a soup pot and I eat turkey soup for days after Thanksgiving passes. Maybe it’s time to branch out!
enjoy thanksgiving..thanks for posting..