When Thanksgiving or Christmas is done and you still have lots of turkey
left, you may wonder what you can do with it all. Actually, quite a lot.
First,
chop, dice or shred your leftovers and store them in resealable plastic
bags
in the refrigerator. That way, you can reach for a bag or two as you need
them. Then you'll be ready to try one or more of my 10 Low Fat Ways to Use
Leftover Turkey.
1. Soups Add 2 cups of chopped leftover turkey, a selection of chopped
vegetables and 1 cup of uncooked rice or noodles to 3 cans fat-free, low
sodium chicken
broth.
2. Salads Add leftover turkey to a mix of arugula and spinach, sliced
mushrooms, cranberries, shredded carrots, sliced red onions and a
sprinkling
of heart-healthy
walnuts. Toss with your favorite low fat or fat free fruity dressing or
vinaigrette.
3. Sandwiches and Wraps Use slices of leftover turkey to make all kinds of
sandwiches. Be sure to use whole grain breads and rolls, and low fat or
fat
free
fillings. If you don't like the taste of fat-free mayo, use mustard
instead,
or flavor your mayo with a little curry powder or another herb or spice.
Make
a turkey-salad filling with crunchy celery, cranberries and apple. Use
plain
low fat yogurt for the dressing. Stuff into a whole wheat pita or spoon
into
the center of a whole wheat tortilla wrap and roll up.
4. Pizza Toppings Top a prepared whole wheat crust with 1/2 cup of tomato
or
barbecue sauce, 1 cup of chopped turkey and 1/2 cup reduced fat cheese.
Bake
for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
5. Quesadillas Combine shredded turkey with a little cumin. Spoon on one
half of a low fat corn tortilla; sprinkle with reduced fat cheese; fold
tortilla
in half and cook in a nonstick skillet (coated with cooking spray) for 5
minutes, turning once.
6. Burritos, Enchiladas, Fajitas, and Tacos Add shredded turkey to salsa,
black beans, low fat sour cream and reduced fat cheese; or combine with
sautéed
onions and sweet peppers; with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes; or
mix
with mild green chiles, seasonings, scallions and a can of enchilada
sauce.
Use low fat flour or corn wraps with these fillings.
7. Pot pies Add leftover turkey, sliced mushrooms and leftover green beans
and carrots to low fat, reduced sodium condensed chicken or mushroom soup.
Top
with a low fat biscuit topping (there's now a low fat version of Bisquick)
or phyllo pastry sheets.
8. Casseroles Combine 2 cups chopped leftover turkey with 2 cups cooked
whole grain rice, a can fat-free, low sodium broth or chopped tomatoes,
and
a selection
of chopped vegetables in a 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake at 325
degrees
for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
9. Skillet Meals Add 1 1/2 cups of chopped leftover turkey to sautéed
onion,
mushrooms, broccoli and rice cooked in fat-free broth. Sprinkle some
parmesan
before serving.
10. Pasta dishes Add leftover turkey to your any number of pasta dishes.
Use
shredded turkey instead of ground beef in your favorite lasagna recipe. Be
sure to use reduced fat cheeses.
Finally, don't forget the carcass: put it in a big pot of water along with
some onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns and herbs; bring it to a boil,
then
simmer. After a couple of hours, you'll have a rich stock, which you can
de-fat and use for low fat soups, stews and gravies throughout the holiday
season.
Who knows, once that turkey has finally gone, bones and all, you might
even
miss it.
Later.
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