Leftover Turkey Salad Spread

 

Honestly, the reason we buy a whole huge turkey for Thanksgiving is for the leftovers.  Cold turkey for a midnight snack, yes please.  Turkey and noodles, absolutely.  But this turkey salad spread is what my husband absolutely goes crazy over.  His grandma always made it the week after Thanksgiving and it is something we all crave and look forward to.  The consistency isn't what you expect when think of turkey or chicken salad.  It's a spread.  It's delicious on your favorite bread or crackers.  It would also be amazing with a thin slice of tomato and some thin sliced red onion.  For us, we prefer it alone on a leftover roll.

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey, dark and/or white meat, we usually use white

Mayonnaise

Dill Pickles

Salt and Pepper

Fill a food processor with as much turkey as you desire.

Add a couple dollops of mayonnaise.

Cut 3-4 dill pickles into 1 inch chunks and throw them in along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Pulse your food processor to get everything started and then turn it on high.  Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally until it's a smooth, paste consistency.  I usually have to add a bit more mayonnaise and salt and pepper and just taste as I go until it's how we like it.

Serve on your favorite bread, cracker, or rolls.  Keep refrigerated.  

Stuffing Balls

 

Another favorite for our Thanksgiving table is the super easy and yummy Stuffing Ball appetizer!  These were my favorite when I was a kid!

1 6oz box Stove Top Stuffing, chicken flavor

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup water

1 cup swiss cheese, shredded

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the egg, butter, and water.  Stir in the stuffing mix and cheese.

Form the mixture into bite size balls and place on the parchment lined baking sheet 1 inch apart.  

Bake for 8 minutes, flip them over, and bake 8 more minutes.

Aunt Norma's Cheese Ball

 

Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK and I finally got my hands on my Aunt Norma's cheese ball recipe.  This cheese ball is so good my baby sister HAD to have it for her wedding reception.  We made so many cheese balls that week I dreamt of them for a very long time.  I love to eat this with just a good 'ol Ritz cracker.  

2 pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 jars dried beef, minced

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried onion flakes

1 tsp. horseradish

In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese, butter, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, onion flakes, and one jar of the minced dried beef.  Form the mixture into a ball.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining minced dried beef and pecans.  Spread the beef and pecan mixture evenly over a flat surface.  Roll the ball around the mixture until the entire surface is covered.  Place the cheese ball on your serving plate, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.  If you're not ready to place it on your serving plate, wrap the ball in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you're ready to serve.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

No Bake Macaroni and Cheese

My friend Bree gave me this recipe.  It's her family's recipe and it's SO good.  It's fast and easy and everything you want in a creamy, super cheesy, mac n' cheese.

1lb. short cut pasta (my kids love small shells)

1 stick butter

1/3 cup flour

3 1/2 cups whole milk

1lb. shredded sharp cheddar (make sure it's sharp!)

salt and pepper

Prepare the pasta in salted water according to the box directions and drain.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  

Add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute.

Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.

Simmer for a few minutes until the milk mixture begins to thicken.

Add the cheese and stir until completely melted. 

Add the pasta and mix until every piece of pasta is well coated in the cheese sauce.

Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

*If you have any leftover ham from a holiday, cube it up and throw it in there.  Yum!*

Deviled Eggs

These are, hands down, the BEST deviled eggs EVER.  My aunt makes them for every holiday and they are to DIE for!

1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled

Woeber's Jalepeno Mustard

mayo

salt

pepper

paprika

Split each hard boiled eggs in half, length wise.

Remove the yolks and place in a medium mixing bowl.

Place the whites on a serving platter and set aside.

Take a fork or a whisk and crumble the yolks until they're all in tiny pieces.

Add enough mayo to make it creamy and at least 3 Tablespoons of the jalapeño mustard. (Side note: the jalapeño mustard doesn't make it spicy at all.  So if you're not into spice, no worries, these are NOT spicy AT ALL.  But there's something about that mustard that just sets this recipe apart from the rest.)

Keep stirring and combining the yolks, mayo, and mustard until it's the consistency you like and the yolks are smooth and creamy.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the yolk mixture into a sandwich baggie and snip the corner off.

Pipe the yolk mixture into the center of the whites.

If you're Team Paprika then sprinkle it on top of all of the eggs.  If you're Team NO Paprika, skip it!

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Gravy

Let's be honest...gravy can make or break the Thanksgiving spread.  You and I will be good friends if you can make good gravy.  

What you'll need:

Turkey drippings from your Thanksgiving Day Turkey

flour

This is so simple, folks!  After you've cooked your turkey, you have some leftover turkey drippings/cooking liquid in the bottom of the pan.  Get it!  Go grab a large measuring cup and pour it all in there!  Well, maybe not ALL of it...

Anyway, pour the juices into the measuring cup.  All it to sit for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top.  Once the fat is sitting on top of the juices, skim 1/2 cup off of the top.  Take the 1/2 cup of fat and pour it into a medium size sauce pot over med-high heat.  (You can now skim the remaining fat off of the juices and discard.)  Once the fat is hot, add 1/4-1/2 cup flour.  Whisk the flour constantly until you have a smooth paste.  Cook the flour for about 1 minute.  Once the flour is cooked, start adding the pan juices (the stuff in the measuring cup) to the flour mixture.  Drizzle it until you have enough to make a thick gravy (maybe about a cup...you have to eye ball it).  Whisk constantly until thickened to gravy consistency.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I trust you all had a blessed time with family and friends and had an abundance of great food.  For the first time ever, I hosted Thanksgiving at my house!  My family and I weren't able to travel to Ohio to be with our families this year, so we had some friends over and ate...and ate...and ate...and are still eating.  Here is a recipe for a FABULOUS turkey.  There are many secrets all rolled into one BIG secret for this turkey to come out *perfectly*.  And it's NOT hard.  Enjoy!

What you will need:

1 turkey roaster oven (Not a traditional oven...a roaster oven.  It's kind of like a huge crock pot.)

1 18lb.-22lb. turkey

4-6 medium onions, peeled and quartered

1/2 stick real butter, softened

kosher salt

dried sage

dried rosemary

dried thyme

 

Let's get started!  Make sure your kitchen sink is nice and clean.  Remove the thawed turkey from it's packaging and place it in the sink.  Reach inside the turkey and remove all of the giblets.  If you plan on using the giblets, place them in a bowl and set aside until you're ready to cook them or make gravy from them.  

Next, rinse the turkey inside and out.  Pat dry with paper towels.

Now, the fun part!

I like to have 2 people for this process.  One person to hold the turkey and get their hands all gunky and another person to hand things to me without gunky hands.  Have someone get a bowl of kosher salt for you and place a handful size amount in the palm of your hand (about a quarter of a cup).  Take the handful of salt and rub it all over the INSIDE of the turkey.  Make sure no spot is left unsalted.  Use more than 1/4 cup if needed.  

Next, have someone give you the 1/2 stick of butter and smear the butter all over the OUTSIDE of the turkey.  Massage it into the skin nice and evenly.

After the turkey has been buttered, take the onions that have been quartered and stuff them all inside the turkey.  Remember how I said there are lots of little secrets?  This is one of them.  Onions are packed full of moisture, aromatics, and flavor.  By stuffing the inside cavity FULL of quartered onions, you are creating incredible flavor that will permeate the meat while it cooks all while moisturizing it from the inside out.  Your turkey will be SO moist and juicy by adding the onions!  Once that's done, it's time for the herbs.  Generously sprinkle the sage, rosemary, and thyme all over the outside of the turkey.  You don't need a ton of it...just enough to get a nice flavor.

Once your turkey has been rinsed, salted, buttered, stuffed with onions, and sprinkled with herbs, transfer it from the sink to the roaster oven insert that has been lined with a rack.  (If your roaster oven didn't come with a rack, a cooling rack should work just fine.)  Set the insert into the roaster oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees.  Allow it to roast for 4 1/2 - 5 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the turkey.  (The roaster oven is another secret!  Just make sure there's NO PEEKING until at least the 4 1/2 hour mark.)  When you've reached 165 degrees, turn the roaster oven off and allow the turkey to sit for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove the turkey from the roaster oven and transfer to a large cutting board.  Carve the turkey to your liking and serve the meat slices on a platter.  Reserve the cooking liquid for gravy.