by Dana | Dec 7, 2017 | Recipes, Turkey
Thanksgiving Turkey Leftover Pizza, a yummy way to use up those leftovers! Thanksgiving pizza… as if pizza isn’t already enough to get excited, I threw Thanksgiving leftovers on top. Oh, yeah! So, I’m pretty sure you can guess that I love food. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to come up with recipes. So, naturally, I love Thanksgiving and everything about it. Well, there is one slight downside to Thanksgiving. ALL the leftovers. Okay, well no, leftovers, in general, are not a downside. But, let’s face it after about two days of just reheating Thanksgiving over and over it can get pretty boring. Do you know what’s not boring? Pizza. Not boring at all! Now, obviously, this isn’t going to be a traditional pizza when you’re talking about using up random Thanksgiving leftovers. I literally took a bunch of items that I had small amounts of left and threw them on top of a pizza crust. And, let me tell you this ended up being one killer combo! So, my “sauce” is super simple, just roasted garlic and a drizzle of olive oil with some herbs. I had an abundance of roasted garlic left over. I used it in my mashed potatoes and cream cheese dip for a starter. How do you make roasted garlic? Cut the top off a head of garlic, about 1/4 inch down from the top, just enough to expose the cloves. Place in a medium-sized piece of tin foil. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil on top, add a pinch of salt, and pepper. Crumple up the foil until it...
by Kami | Dec 1, 2017 | Recipes, Soups, Turkey
This rich, flavorful simple leftover turkey chili recipe will make you wish you had leftover turkey more often! Why is Thanksgiving only once a year?!?! Let’s face it. I think most of us love the holidays, but we all need a holiday to recover from the holidays. This was my first time hosting Thanksgiving at my home and actually LOVED every single minute. I felt like such a big girl! We moved to Austin, Texas a year ago and decided to stay in our new home for Thanksgiving. My brother and his amazing family live less than an hour away and joined us. With kids similar ages, it was truly magically. Lots of laughter, great food, late nights, and wonderful memories created. I’m also 20 weeks pregnant and after the week long of fun, cooking, baking, cleaning and standing on my feet for pretty much 24/7 the entire 7 day Thanksgiving break, my poor hips and back feel like they’re broken. My fellow moms out there TOTALLY understand that life still continues even when Mom Boss is slightly out of commission. SO my family still needs to eat dinner despite me wanting to spend my following week living in a spa and massage therapist office. This SUPER easy and enjoyable leftover turkey chili recipe was a lifesaver. Remember how this was my first time hosting Thanksgiving? Well, of course I needed to smoke the largest turkey I could find even though we only had 4 adults and 5 small children. Makes sense, right? Well, shockingly I had lots of leftover turkey (super juicy and tender) BUT tons of leftover...
by Dana | Nov 30, 2017 | Turkey
Turkey Salad with Cranberries, a yummy and unexpected way to use up leftover turkey! Turkey and cranberry salad is loaded with leftover turkey, cranberries, walnuts, and celery, all tossed in the BEST dressing. Seriously, you will want to use this dressing on everything from salads to a dipping sauce to… even chicken salad sandwiches! Like most Americans, I am OBSESSED with Thanksgiving. The plethora of food, friends, family, and…. desserts! I always seem to make way more food than we need. Kind of like my late Grandmother, I always think I’m trying to feed an army! Needless to say, there is always a ton of leftovers. Now, I’m fine with leftovers. Leftovers are great. I LOOOOOOVE me some leftovers… but after a day or two, it can get boring… amirite? So, I try to mix it up and make totally different dishes out of what I have on hand to mix with my Thanksgiving leftovers. I really, really, love this turkey salad with cranberries, it still has yummy fall flavors but I could eat it every day! I like to serve the turkey salad in mini croissants. But, feel free to use any kind of bread or roll you wish. I’ve also mixed it with a regular salad and had it like that, plus no need to add additional salad dressing! Turkey salad with cranberries directions: Dice turkey and place in a medium-sized bowl. Add additional yummy ingredients like sliced celery, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, scallions, and parsley. Mix the dressing in a separate bowl. Toss the dressing to coat the salad. You will have leftover dressing, use...
by Kami | Nov 15, 2017 | Dressings and Sauces, Recipes, Side Dishes, Turkey
This turkey gravy recipe is not only easy, but also THE best and most creamy, savory turkey gravy! I grew up making gravy for my family’s weekly Sunday dinner. As a kid, I took this responsibility very seriously! Every Sunday, my mom would make Slow Cooker Roast Beef, Potatoes, and Carrots. I would make the gravy from all the remaining drippings and juices. It was the final step before dinner was ready to be served and felt a sense of pride once completing. Whether you’re making beef gravy or turkey gravy, it’s the same, simple process. Gravy is relatively simple, however it can also quickly become lumpy or too thick. The trick is to bring the liquid to a rolling boil and start stirring with a whisk prior to pouring the cornstarch mixture. I pour the cornstarch mixture directly over where I’m stirring with my whisk. Also, I watch the texture closely. Once I start noticing any thickening, I stop pouring my cornstarch mixture BUT continue consistently stirring. After about 10 seconds, you’ll be able to determine whether or not you need to add additional cornstarch mixture. If you’re making the gravy from my Smoked Whole Turkey Recipe, the juices and broth will already be full of flavor. However, if you test taste your gravy and feel it still needs more flavor, I would try adding salt and pepper 1/4 tsp at a time. You should quickly reach the flavor you’re looking for. Happy Thanksgiving and Turkey Gravy making! Print Best Turkey Gravy This turkey gravy recipe is full of flavor, simple, and will perfectly compliment your turkey or any...
by Kami | Nov 14, 2017 | Recipes, Turkey
If you are looking for THE most irresistible, juicy best smoked turkey recipe, you’ve come to the right place. When smoking a whole turkey, you need to start preparing 4 to 5 days prior to smoking. First, if your turkey is still frozen, it can take up to 3 full days to safely thaw your turkey in the refrigerator. You MUST have a thawed turkey before brining your turkey which takes an additional 24 hours. This is all preparation prior to smoking your turkey for 7 to 8 hours. I cannot emphasize the importance of preparing ahead. Trust me… your smoked thanksgiving turkey will be a highlight for years and worth the time, but it does take some planning ahead. I’ve brined several whole chickens and turkeys prior to smoking. Every. Single. Time. I’m grateful I took the extra time and preparation. Although your smoked whole turkey would still turn out somewhat decent without brining, there is a distinct difference between brining and not brining. It turns out SO juicy!!! To prepare the brine, I like to make sure my brown sugar and salt are dissolved. I quickly add the brown sugar, salt, and just enough water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a boil only until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the mixture to the additional water and submerge your turkey. Double check the turkey is fully submerged (especially the breast portion). So the next step will potentially gross you out… but don’t skip it! You have to gently separate as much skin from the turkey breast as possible and generously spread the butter all...
by Kami | Nov 13, 2017 | Breads and Quick Breads, Chicken, Recipes, Side Dishes, Turkey
This savory classic stuffing recipe will be the perfect compliment to your Thanksgiving Turkey. The combination of just a few seasonings creates a flavorful, easy to prepare bread stuffing recipe. Full disclosure here: I have not always been the biggest fan of stuffing at Thanksgiving. It’s a staple though. Stuffing must accompany turkey at Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition! SO after several years of experimenting with stuffing, I discovered I like mine a little more crispy rather than moist and soft. In order to create more of a crunchy texture, I bake my stuffing instead of stuffing the turkey with my bread stuffing. Also, it’s pretty simple to adjust the texture of this recipe by adjusting how long you bake the stuffing uncovered. For softer more moist stuffing, bake uncovered for a shorter amount of time. For more crisp, crunchy stuffing, bake uncovered for a little longer time. No worries… I provide exact times and instructions in the recipe. When I was hunting for fresh bread crumbs, I asked one of the bakery employees at my local grocery store for help with my search. She was so kind to walk me directly over to the bakery and instruct the lady behind the counter to slice a fresh loaf of bread two ways! I had my choice of whole wheat, white, sour dough, and asiago loaves. The kind lady grabbed my whole wheat loaf, sliced that baby two ways, and made my fresh bread cubes! I’m excited to try the sour dough and asiago bread next. Most traditional stuffing recipes instruct you to use stale bread or to dry or lightly...
