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Earth Eats

Creative Inspiration For Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

By WFIU Staff
Published October 29, 2019 at 2:09 PM EDT

Photo: chumworth (flickr)

Over the past couple of weeks, Earth Eats has shared some of our favorite preparations for what is undoubtedly among the biggest eating days of the year, Thanksgiving.

We brought you our favorite pumpkin recipes, turkey tips, and even an hour-long Thanksgiving special.

Now, of course, we're all faced with the inevitable day after, and a huge pile of Thanksgiving leftovers (not such a bad problem to have, if you ask me).

On the podcast this week, we tackle the leftover problem and also share some of our own leftovers – some bits from our cutting room floor that didn't quite make it into the Thanksgiving special.

Chef Orr's Top 10 Ways to Use Leftover Turkey

After staring blankly at our pile of leftovers for a while and thumbing through our recipe collections, we decided it wouldn't hurt to ask for a bit of professional help.

We asked Earth Eats' Chef Daniel Orr to come up with his top 10 leftover turkey ideas and this is what he shared with us (we dug up some recipe ideas for each one to get you started and then asked Chef Orr to share his personal recipe for his #1 leftover turkey dish):

  • #10 – Spaghetti with Turkey Sauce Supreme

  • #9 – Turkey Pot Pie with Grandma's Biscuit Topping

  • #8 – Creamed Turkey with Sunchokes

  • #7 – Roast Turkey with Havarti and Hazelnuts

  • #6 – Curried Turkey Salad Wrap

  • #5 – Country Ham and Peas with Creamy Parmesan Turkey Sauce

  • #4 – Turkey Tetrazzini

  • #3 – Turkey, Ham and Swiss Wraps

  • #2 – Turkey and Mashed Potato Croquettes

  • #1 – Savory Turkey Herb Cobbler

    • If none of these work for you, there's always the ol' throw-everything-in-a-pot approach (my personal favorite). If that's more your speed, check out this recipe for Leftover Turkey Soup from The 100 Mile Challenge.

    Gobbler Cobbler: Chef Orr's Savory Turkey Herb Cobbler

    This is kinda like the chicken and dumplings that my gramma Kolbs used to make. Serves 4 to 6. - DO

    Ingredients:

    For The Topping:

    • Gramma's Biscuit recipe - or your favorite biscuit recipe

      • For The Filling:

      • 2 tablespoons butter

      • 3 cloves minced garlic

      • 1 small onion, minced

      • 2 ribs celery, sliced

      • 1 bunch green onions, about 6 to 8, thinly sliced

      • 3 cups leftover turkey gravy

      • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

      • 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

      • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or thyme

      • 2 cups mixed vegetables (whatever you have, peas, carrots, celery root, parsnips, sweet peppers, green beans- diced (you can use frozen mixed veggies)

      • 3 cups diced leftover cooked turkey

      • cranberry sauce (optional)

        • Directions:

        1. Follow recipe for Gramma's Biscuits, Place in refrigerator until needed

        2. Pre-heat oven to 400°

        3. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat until frothy; add garlic, onions, celery and cook until tender.

        4. Add green onions and cook 1 minute longer.

        5. Add gravy and bring to a boil.

        6. Add herbs and seasonings, vegetables, and turkey; heat through.

        7. Pour into a buttered 9-inch square pan or 2-quart baking dish.

        8. Drop spoonfuls of the dough all over the hot filling.

        9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until topping is browned and filling is bubbly.

        10. Serve with cranberry sauce on the side, if desired.

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          Next Week

          Next week on the podcast we'll be talking about brussels sprouts and sunchokes. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our free weekly podcast in iTunes and follow our updates all week long on facebook and twitter.

          We would also love to hear your Thanksgiving leftover ideas, leave a comment below with your favorites, or send us an e-mail: eartheats @ gmail.com.

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