Ranch Turkey Pizza

Okay, another quick and easy dinner made up from some of the leftover turkey from the big feast.

This one takes a shortcut and uses one of those pre-baked pizza crusts that we can buy at the grocery store. I picked up a package of whole wheat crusts this time and got the bonus of two crusts for the price of one. Since the crust is already baked this dinner can be on the table in about 30 minutes which is fantastic with all the extra activities that seem to hit from now until Christmas.

Ranch Turkey Pizza

1 pre-baked pizza crust (12” size)

3 Tablespoons of your favorite Ranch Salad dressing

1 ½ cups diced cooked turkey

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1 cup chopped fresh tomato

2 chopped green onions

½ teaspoon Italian herb seasoning

1 ½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

On a greased pizza pan (or flat cookie sheet) place the pizza crust.

Spread the Ranch dressing evenly over the top of the crust. Top with remaining ingredients.

Cook in pre-heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted. 

 

Turkey Nacho

Okay so this is really more an idea than a recipe. Make a nacho and toss some leftover cooked turkey in it. Easy and quick and you add some low fat protein to a favorite snack.

Here's a quick run down on how I built the nacho in the photo.

On a microwave safe plate scatter a layer of your favorite tortilla chips.

Top with about ½ cup of cubed cooked turkey and a handful of shredded cheese.

Microwave this on high for about 30 seconds just to get the cheese starting to melt.

Add another layer of chips, another ½ cup of turkey, a sliced green onion and a handful or two of cheese.

Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until most of the cheese is melted.

Top with you favorite toppings, we used: salsa, sliced olives, guacamole and sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Pot Pie

This is comfort food at its best, a wonderful warm dish that tastes like it came from grandma's kitchen. Okay, so it isn't low fat but once in while we need to treat ourselves. My feeling is if we eat healthy most of the time and we indulge once in a while we will be happier and less apt to go wild and eat badly all the time.

Since we are talking about leftovers from Thanksgiving this week I had to include this one. I used a pre-made pie crust from the grocery store. I usually have a couple of these in the fridge to use when I am short on time. Also if you just spent the last several days making a big dinner for the holiday you deserve to take a few shortcuts now. If you want to make a pie crust go for it! Use your favorite recipe, or plan ahead if you make pumpkin pie for the holiday and make an extra crust then.

I used thawed frozen mixed veggies in my pot pie but if you have some veggies leftover use those up first. I love this with leftover broccoli in it but it is good with whatever veggie you have on hand.

I made my pot pie with half and half but feel free to use any milk you have on hand, I like the richness of the half and half with the broth. My gravy mixture came out a little thin so I added a bit more flour to the recipe here so yours will should be thicker and richer than mine in the picture.

Turkey Pot Pie

¼ cup butter

1 medium onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic (minced or grated)

½ teaspoon dry sage

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 cups broth (turkey or chicken)

1 cup half and half (or any fat level milk)

2 cups mixed vegetables (thawed if frozen) or leftover veggies

2 cups cubed cooked turkey

1 pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until softened. Add the garlic, dry sage and salt and pepper, continue to cook a few minutes more, just until the garlic starts to cook and release its aroma.

Stir the flour into the butter and onion mixture and allow to cook a minute or so. Slowly stir in the broth and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Allow to boil for a minute or so then stir in the half and half. Bring back to a simmer, stirring constantly.

Add the veggies and turkey to the mixture in the saucepan and allow to come back to a simmer stirring occasionally

Pour the mixture into a large (10") glass pie dish. Top with the pie crust.

Be sure you have the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. 

 

Turkey (or Chicken) Creole

I am always on the lookout for ways to use leftovers, and when I found this little recipe for using up some leftover cooked turkey I had a feeling it would be a great little find. I did some tweaking to it so it was more to our liking and that is what I am sharing here today. This is quick to put together and uses ingredients that I always have on hand. If you are like me and keep some cooked meats in the freezer this dish is easy and quick to pull together.

I left the amount of Tabasco up to you, I used about ½ teaspoon but use as much or as little as you would like. Be sure to taste as you go so you know if you have the seasonings just right or if your palate wants a bit of a change. That is half the fun of cooking, tasting and adjusting to make it just right.

Turkey (or Chicken) Creole

1 small onion (thinly sliced)

1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced)

¼ cup sliced celery

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 ½ cups cut up cooked turkey or chicken

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 ½ to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Tabasco to taste

Brown rice

Begin by sweating the onion, green pepper and celery in the oil in a skillet until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add turkey and mix into vegetables, add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn down to low and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve over brown rice

Ham and Walnut Pasta

I have one more recipe here to help you use up some of that leftover Ham from the weekend. This one came about because I was in the mood to try something new so I began searching through my cookbooks. I came upon a recipe that looked interesting but I had less than 1/3 of the original ingredients on hand. However, the concept (browning some breadcrumbs to add to the pasta) intrigued me. I read through the recipe then headed into my kitchen. I then made choices from what was available in the cabinets, fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with. It really in no way resembles the recipe I saw in the book but we loved it. In fact my daughter and I fought over who got the leftovers for lunch the next day. (We reached a compromise and split it)

Ham and Walnut Pasta

1 pound spaghetti

¼ cup chopped walnuts

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs

½ pound cooked ham, cubed

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

10 ounce bag fresh spinach

½ cup cooking water from the pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Start by getting your water to cook your pasta in boiling, you will want to be cooking you pasta while you are making the rest so go ahead and add the pasta when the water boils. Drain pasta when it is cooked. Be sure to reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan toast the walnuts until they just begin to turn a bit brown and you begin to smell them. Add the olive oil and breadcrumbs and cook until the mixture browns. Remove this from the nut mixture to a bowl to save for later and wipe the pan out.

In the same pan combine the ham, crushed red pepper, and garlic and cook to brown the meat and toast the garlic a bit. Add the spinach and ½ cup of water that the pasta is cooking in (this will not only cook the spinach but there is starch from the pasta will help the sauce to form) and cover to cook the spinach.

Toss the pasta, the spinach mixture, the nut mixture and lemon juice to combine. Top with some parmesan cheese if desired.

Ham and Cheese Pancake Roll-Ups

I know that many of us will be eating a ham on Easter so I decided to dust off one of my favorite recipes to use some of the leftover ham. First let me say that I love ham just about any way you fix it, but this is a real hit with the entire family. The amounts are flexible so you can tailor it to what your family likes and the amount you have left over.

This time I was in a hurry when I made this and to be honest I used pancake mix to make the pancakes and that is the way I am presenting the recipe. If you would rather to make your pancakes from scratch or any other favorite method feel free to do them that way. Just add the onion and an extra pinch of salt to your batter before you cook them.

Ham and Cheese Pancake Roll-Ups

3 cups of cooked ham, diced

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup all purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups milk

2 Tablespoons mustard (spicy brown or Dijon)

4 dashes of Tabasco sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups of pancake mix (the kind you just add water to)

1 1/3 cups water

1 medium onion, finely diced

Begin by combining the ham and oil in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the ham begins to brown. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir over until bubbly. Add milk gradually stirring to combine. Heat to boiling stirring often, boil for about 1 minute then add the mustard and Tabasco sauce. Stir in cheese until mostly melted then turn off heat leaving pan on burner to stay warm. Continue to stir making sure cheese is melted completely before serving.

Meanwhile combine the pancake mix, water and onion mixing to combine. You want to have a slightly thin batter. Cook in a hot skillet using about ½ cup of batter for each pancake (I use a ladle to portion out the batter)

As pancakes cook move to a plate in a warm oven to keep warm until serving time.

To serve spoon ham and cheese sauce mixture onto pancake and roll up.