Food: Arrrgghh! Leftovers!

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Arrrgghh! Leftovers!
Friday, November 25, 2005

Across the country, refrigerator doors are slamming shut on the aftermath of yesterday's feast. Countless families are facing down mounds of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing and many are wondering what to do with it all. The extended family and visitors are starting to dissipate, and the prospect of having turkey for the third or fourth meal in a row is a little bit shaky. But we're a frugal group, and we don't want to waste all of that food!

Time to freeze it! We put our turkey in small packages of one half cup of meat in each zipper freezer bag. Actually, we even freeze some of the leftovers right after the main meal and only leave one meal's worth in the refrigerator for later. It's part of the clean up ritual after each of these meals. The Man of the House cleans the meat from the turkey bones and we measure it right on the spot and tuck it into freezer bags. The small bags are gathered into a larger bag to keep them all together in the big freezer downstairs, and everything is labelled with the date and contents to make finding it later much easier.

The leftover turkey in the refrigerator is used within a day or two on a quick reproduction of the original meal plus a few turkey sandwiches for lunch. The turkey in the freezer keeps for several months, and we can use it at our leisure. Here are just a few ideas for your leftovers, if you are searching for a bit of variety from your bird.

Turkey tacos are a favorite in this house. Warm the leftover turkey and wrap it up in a taco shell with your favorite veggies and other fillings. The turkey is a healthier alternative to the traditional ground beef, and makes for an entirely different taste. You can also substitute turkey meat in nearly any of your favorite recipes that call for shredded chicken meat. Try putting turkey into chicken casseroles. A family favorite is lovingly called "turkey-rice glop" and is basically turkey, rice and a white sauce baked together for a half an hour or so with some extra poultry seasoning.

Your family may enjoy turkey stew or turkey soup on a cold winter's day here in a few weeks. The two are basically the same, except stew has a thickener added. You can easily do this in a crock pot if you need to be gone all day at work, and it will fill the house with the wonderful aroma of homemade dinner. It's also quick and easy to fix: just cut up a few potatoes, add some peas, carrots, and other veggies that you have on hand, and put the frozen turkey right in on top of everything. Cover it all with water or leftover broth, and set your crock pot to cook the mixture for four to six hours. If you'd like stew, thicken it up with a bit of flour dissolved in water, stir, and cook on high heat for fifteen or twenty minutes. This is wonderful served with fresh biscuits, too.

Turkey salad is another family favorite. Just mix it right up as you would chicken salad, and serve it on sandwiches or crackers for lunch or snacks. We like ours with lots of sweet pickles, but you'll find what works best for your family.

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