Creative Designs by Leftover Turkey

Last weekend I drove to Nebraska to visit my parents, and my mom whipped up a delicious traditional Thanksgiving turkey with the obligatory stuffing, gravy and homemade cranberry sauce. I returned to Wisconsin with half jars of gravy and cranberry sauce, a few servings of stuffing and half of the bird all jammed into my lunch-box cooler. After days of reliving that wonderful Thanksgiving meal via leftovers, everything was gone except the turkey - which somehow seemed to have expanded beyond the capacity of its jumbo-sized Ziplock bag. Time to get creative.

Solution? Tetrazzini!!!

The name sounds Italian, but this Tetrazzini is a good ol' toss-and-bake, down-to-earth Midwestern gal's hotdish. It may not be too photogenic, but it's warm, filling and reheat-friendly. Here is the recipe, open to interpretation:

2 cups leftover turkey, shredded or cubed
1 package cooked Amish-style egg noodles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup mixed vegetables, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the vegetables. Mix together turkey, cooked noodles, soup, milk and vegetables in a deep baking dish. Top mixture with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Turned out great. Tasted like a richer, heartier chicken noodle soup without the soup.

However, I still have several pounds of turkey left in the freezer. More recipe ideas to come ...

RNA