Susan M. Morgan, CFCS
County Extension Agent
Family and Consumer Education
Bolivia, NC 28422
November 2000

Part of the pleasure of a Thanksgiving or other holiday meal is the aroma of a turkey baking in your oven. Continue that great feeling by planning a variety of pleasing post-holiday meals with leftover turkey. Try the recipes in this article or use them as inspiration for your own!

Turkey makes a great first meal, plus delicious leftovers that are easy to combine into a variety of scrumptious future meals. Try turkey year-round and think "planned-overs" rather than "leftovers" to "cook it quick" with turkey.

Follow these food safety guidelines for handling your turkey leftovers safely:

1. Debone turkey and refrigerate all leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking.
2. Use leftover turkey within 3 to 4 days, stuffing and gravy within 1 to 2 days, or freeze these foods.
3. When reheating turkey, reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165° F or until hot and steaming throughout.
4. For more information about roasting your turkey in a way to insure delicious and safe leftovers, check this link from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service: FOOD SAFETY OF TURKEY ... from Farm to Table www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/focustky.htm

Chilled Turkey Rice Salad (Serves 4)
2 cups Cooked Turkey, Cut Into 1/2" Pieces
1 cup Cooked Rice
2 Green Onions, Chopped
1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
4 teaspoons Lemon Juice or Vinegar
Salt to Taste
1/4 cup Chopped Green Pepper
1/2 cup Chopped Celery
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
Lettuce Leaves

Combine rice, onion, curry, lemon juice, and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add rest of ingredients, except lettuce, to chilled rice mixture. Serve on lettuce leaves.

Turkey Tarragon Pitas (Serves 4)
1/2 cup Lemon Yogurt
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Dried Tarragon Leaves, Finely Crushed
2 cups Fully-Cooked Turkey Breast, Cut into 1/2-Inch Cubes
1/2 cup Green Grapes, Sliced in Half
4 mini (or 2 6-inch) Whole-Wheat Pitas
4 pieces Leaf Lettuce

In medium bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, and tarragon. Fold in turkey and grapes; cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Trim tops from mini-pita pockets (or cut 6-inch pitas in half). Line inside of pitas with lettuce. Carefully fill pitas with turkey mixture.

Turkey Salad With Orange Vinaigrette (makes 4 1-1/2 cup servings)

Orange Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup Orange Juice (br> 2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Finely Chopped Onion
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Dash Pepper
1 tablespoon Oil
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

Salad:

4 cups Torn Salad Greens
2 cups Cooked Turkey Breast, Cut Into Julienne Strips
1 (11 oz.) can Mandarin Orange Segments, Drained
1/2 cup Sliced Celery

In jar with tight-fitting lid, combine all vinaigrette ingredients; shake well. In large bowl, combine all salad ingredients; toss gently. Serve with vinaigrette. If desired, garnish with fresh strawberries.

White Turkey Chili(serves 8+)
1 tablespoon Oil
1/4 cup Onion, Chopped
1 cup Celery, Chopped
4 cups Cooked Turkey, Chopped
2 cans (15.5 oz.) Great Northern beans, Drained
2 cans (11 oz.) Corn, Undrained
1 can (4 oz.) Chopped Green Chilies
4 cups Turkey or Chicken Broth (see Tip 2)
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cook and stir 2-3 minutes. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan (at least 4 quarts). Stir well. Cover and cook about 15 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top if desired.

Cook's Tips:

1. Save time by making extra rice and use the rest at a later date.
2. Though your recipe will be less colorful, you could substitute about 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh onion or 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried, chopped onion for the green onion.
3. You could use bottled lemon juice for small amounts. Or, buy a lemon and cut up the extra lemon for a touch of elegance by adding lemon wedges to water glasses at meals.
4. Frozen chopped green pepper can be substituted for fresh pepper. Thaw it quickly by placing frozen chopped pepper in a strainer or colander and running cool water over it. Shake off excess water and use.
5. To reduce the calories in a dish, use light or fat-free mayonnaise, lowfat or nonfat yogurt or sour cream in place of the mayonnaise. If you like the flavor of mayonnaise, use a mixture with one of these and mayonnaise.
6. A possible use for leftover lemon yogurt is to combine it with chopped apple, diced celery, raisins, and chopped walnuts or any of your other favorite Waldorf salad ingredients for a new twist on an old favorite recipe.
7. 7. Most purchased, dried crushed tarragon leaves should be fine enough "as is" without further crushing.
8. Use white and dark meat leftovers if you've prepared a whole turkey and not just the breast portion.
9. If you don't have pita bread, serve the turkey mixture on a plate of lettuce with leftover rolls on the side.
10. If you don't have large pieces of leaf lettuce but do have pre-torn bagged lettuce, you can place this on the bottom half of your pita and then fill with the turkey mixture.
11. You can substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, chopped onion for chopped fresh onion, just follow directions on the dried onion container. Prepare the dressing at least 10 minutes before you need it to allow the dried onion to rehydrate from the fluids in the dressing.
12. Another way to add crunch to your salad is to use 4 tablespoons chopped walnuts instead of celery.
13. If you have extra broth, use it instead of water when cooking vegetables or use it for some or all of the liquid in cooking rice. Use within a day or two or freeze.

Please e-mail Susan Morgan, CFCS, County Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Education for further information or assistance.

The information presented is for educational purposes only. References to trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

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Date Created 11/14/2000