Creative ideas for leftovers

Are you sick of turkey yet? I know I am since I cooked a 12 pounder for just 2 of us......

So, I just made a vat load of turkey and rice soup from the turkey carcass......takes a bit of time to boil the bones etc and reduce the stock, but the flavor is well worth it! Before boiling the carcass with the veggies strip the meat into shreds and add it to the soup at the end of cooking.

Here goes:

Turkey Rice Soup
Stock:

Turkey carcass (skin and fat removed)
couple of celery stalks
2-3 carrots broken in half
1 onion (unpeeled) and cut in half
few black peppercorns
couple of dried bay leaves
parsley stalks
any other herbs you may have lurking in the frige post Thanskgiving
enough water to cover the carcass by about an inch

Place all of the above in a large stockpot. Allow to boil then turn the heat down to gently simmer it for about 2-3 hours or until the liquid is reduced by half.
Allow to cool a little bit by placing in a sink full of ice water then strain the liquid into a clean pan, discarding the solids. If you have time at this point, refrigerate the stock overnight and remove the fat that hardens on top before proceeding with the recipe below.

For the soup:

Finely chop an onion and sweat (cook without coloring) in about 1 tsp oil.
Then add about 3 diced carrots and 3 stalks diced celery and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.
Add dried bay leaves, plenty of dried thyme, and your strained turkey stock from step 1.
Hat to a roiling boil then add either 3/4 cup of rice of broken up spaghetti or small noodles and cook until tender.
Then add your shredded turkey meat, salt, pepper and chopped fresh parsey to taste and serve (see picture).

Definitely a good choice to keep in the fridge for a quick, warming meal (add bread and a salad) after a hard day's work.....

Light Pumpkin Pie Recipe

In honor of Turkey Day here is a slightly healthier Pumpkin Pie recipe......

Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene and has fiber too! It has some sugar in it but less than other recipes.....


Best Light Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:

16 ginger snap cookies
16 oz can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup egg whites or egg white substitute
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups evaporated skim milk
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup Splenda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F (325F if fan/convection.
Grind ginger snaps in a food processor or in a plasic bag with a rolling pin to fine crumbs.
Spray a glass pie plate with cooking spray and pat crumbs into the bottom of the pan.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into the crust.
Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean (about 45 mins).

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice into 8 wedges and serve with low fat cool whip.

BTW.....this comes in at 151 calories per slice and nearly 3 grams of fiber. 1.6 grams of fat. Compare that to regular pumpkin pie (250 calories, 1 gram fiber, 24 grams of fat).

Enjoy!

Chicken with pomegranate and walnut sauce - easy!

This sweet and sour chicken recipe is courtesy of my friend Layla who made it for me a while back and it was excellent!
Unfortunately, I couldn't find pomegranate molasses near me, so I purchased 100% pomegranate juice and boiled it down to give a sticky syrupy sauce.

The picture is not mine, but one I found online. My camera battery died...so apologies....BTW, mine looked much nicer than the one pictured! (such modesty!)

Here's the recipe:-

Chicken with pomegranate and walnut sauce

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts (cut into 1" wide strips)
3 cups unsweetenend 100% pomegranate juice
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2-3 packets Splenda


Rapidly boil the juice in a small pan until reduced to about 1.5 cups.
Meanwhile, gently poach the chicken in just enough water to cover until almost cooked.
Skim off any foam that forms.
Add the walnuts to the pan with the chicken and continue to cook for
about 5 minutes.
Add the reduced pomegranate juice to make the quantity of sauce you need/want.
Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Serve with Crispy rice (thanks Layla!)

If you have leftover steamed rice (or cook it then use it) you can add a tsp or 2 of oil to a good non-stick high sided saucepan (not a skillet) and then add the rice to the hot oil. Reduce the heat and cover with a tea-towel wrapped lid (to absorb the steam) for about 10 minutes.
Place a dish or plate over the pan and invert it to serve...crispy side up!