Smoked Turkey & Vegetable Soup

If you have read any of my posts over the last couple of days, you might have seen the picture I posted of the food I dropped off the side of my front steps. So this is the recipe. Yep, this is the recipe that took the plunge off my front porch and landed in the mulch below. I had to scrap soup out of the bushes and drag french bread out of the dirt. (And no, I didn’t feed any of it to IT Guy.) Anyway....I was lucky to have enough soup back in the kitchen that I could take another picture and I sure hope any little critters that might be out and about enjoyed the soup as much as we did. Oh! and another thing! As I was setting everything out to take pictures, I got distracted and started making the soup without taking an ingredient picture. So my first picture in the recipe step-by-step process is a little weird. In spite of the strange happenings surrounding this recipe, it was SUPER good! We were gifted a smoked turkey breast and I made this soup with the leftover meat from the original meal. A few veggies thrown in and some fun pasta....yep...this is a keeper!!!!

Smoked Turkey & Vegetable Soup

2 32-ounce containers chicken broth

1 medium onion ~ diced

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 red bell pepper ~ diced

1 clove garlic ~ minced

4 cups diced, cooked smoked turkey

1 1/2 cups short cut pasta

Salt & pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute the bell pepper, carrots, onion, celery and garlic in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth.

Add the turkey and salt and pepper.

Simmer for about an hour.

Bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until done, about 10 minutes or so.

Serve with crusty french bread.

Okay...so here's where things started going wrong. I started cooking before I took the ingredient picture. But..you guys are smart and I guess you don't need a picture to see what onions, red bell pepper, celery, carrots and garlic looks like. Right?

Anyway....start by sauting the veggies 

in a little olive oil for a few minutes.

Then add the chicken broth 

and salt and pepper.

Next comes the diced smoked turkey. Let that simmer for an hour or so.

Then add the pasta and cook until done.

Trust me when I tell you that this looks WAY better in the dishes than on the ground. And tastes delicious!

Thanksgiving Eggrolls

Do you have any turkey and dressing left over from Thanksgiving? If you're lucky enough to have even a little bit, you can make these. And I sure hope you've got some gravy and cranberry sauce left, too...because you're going to need it for dipping! I'm a cranberry sauce girl myself but IT Guy went with the gravy. Seriously, guys...these are SO fun and yummy! It's just a different twist on heating up a plate of leftovers and you should try it!

Thanksgiving Eggrolls




Equal amounts turkey and dressing (I used 2 cups of each)
Eggroll wrappers
Leftover gravy
Leftover cranberry relish or sauce
1 egg ~ beaten

Dice turkey.

In a large bowl, crumble the dressing then add the diced turkey.

You want to be able to press the mixture together to it holds it's shape so if your dressing is dry, add some gravy as the "glue".

Measure out about 1/2 cup or so of the turkey mixture and form it into a "log".

Place the mixture about an inch or so from one corner on the eggroll wrapper and fold wrapper up over the mixture. Fold in the sides. Brush some of the beaten egg at the top corner and roll to enclose.

Place eggroll seam side down on a cookie sheet and continue until all ingredients are used.

Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat and fry eggrolls until browned on all sides.

Serve with leftover gravy and cranberry sauce for dipping.


 

The cast of characters.

 

In a large bowl, crumble the dressing 

then add the diced turkey.

 

Measure out about 1/2 cup or so 

of the turkey mixture and form 

it into a "log".

 

Place the mixture about an inch 

or so from one corner on the eggroll 

wrapper and fold wrapper up over 

the mixture. Fold in the sides. Brush 

some of the beaten egg at the top 

corner and roll to enclose.

 

Ready to fry!

 

Fry until light golden brown.

 

See?

 

Serve with leftover gravy 

and cranberry sauce!

Cranberry, Brie and Turkey Pizza

Who always has leftover Thanksgiving food? I know I do. Who gets tired of the same old reheated food? Me, that's who. Have you tried using your leftovers for pizza? There are a LOT of traditional Thanksgiving foods out there, right? But how many would make it on to a pizza? So when I was trying to come up with a combo I thought would be good...turkey and cranberry sauce rang my bell! Of course you need cheese on a pizza, so Brie was the natural choice for this. Let me tell you guys....this is fantastic! The cranberry sauce with it's tartness and the Brie is so creamy...it really dresses up the turkey. All of this on top of a delicious Mama Mary's Flatbread pizza crust. I used my homemade cranberry sauce but if you want, store bought works, too. If you're a fruit/meat person, you're going to love this. The thing I love most about Mama Mary's Flatbreads is that they come 4 to pack. So if you've got LOTS of Thanksgiving leftovers, let people get creative with their toppings! Go crazy! You've got to think outside of the pizza box, so to speak. That's what makes food fun! Try this pizza for a snack or it would work great as an appetizer, too. 

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Cranberry, Brie and Turkey Pizza



1 Mama Mary's pizza crust ~ I used their Flatbread
1 cup cranberry sauce ~ store bought or homemade
1 8-ounce wheel of Brie cheese
1 cup leftover turkey ~ large dice
1/2 cup chopped pecans ~ optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread cranberry sauce over the crust. 

Pinch off small pieces of the Brie and scatter over the cranberry sauce.

Then sprinkle the turkey over the cheese and then top with more Brie.

Sprinkle with pecans, if using.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

 
Let's go!

 
Spread the cranberry sauce 
on the crust. Then some brie.

 
Then scatter some turkey and 
some more Brie on top. And 
pecans if you're using those.

 
Bake it up and enjoy every bite!