Recipes for the weekend after Thanksgiving

Here’s three dishes I made this weekend strictly from leftovers and ingredients I had on hand

(mainly because going to a grocery store even once between last Wednesday and today would have driven me to ritual seppuku)

Apparently I’m a culinary genius; they all turned out pretty good.

Brunch Egg Bake

8″ square glass baking dish

Spray inside of baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

Then put in:

1 cup leftover salad croutons (I had Garlic and Butter, but any flavor’s probably okay)

2 1/2 cups leftover broccoli rabe, steamed/wilted (spinach or broccoli or collard greens would work too)

2 cups leftover turkey white and dark meat, cut in 1″ chunks

1 1/2 cups grated Co-Jack (Colby and Monterey Jack; but again: use whatever you’ve got ; Swiss; Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Muenster, whatever cheese you’ve got on hand that sounds good)

Then in a medium size bowl put:

5 eggs; beat with a fork or whisk

Add 1 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper

Whisk together the eggs and milk and salt and pepper; Pour the egg and milk mixture over the other ingredients in the baking dish;

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

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Baked Butternut Squash and Parsnips

16 oz. (about 4 cups) uncooked butternut squash and parsnips, peeled and cut in 2″ chunks

Put the squash and parsnip chunks in an 8″ square glass baking dish

Add about a Tbsp of water in the bottom of the baking dish

Dot the vegetables with 1 Tbsp butter or margarine; more or less depending on how much you like butter; I love butter (Insert commercial here: actually I use Smart Balance, which is made with olive oil, is non-hydrogenated, has no trans-fats, has the omega-3 and omega-6 stuff that’s good for reducing cholesterol, is great for cooking and baking, and best of all: tastes good)

Sprinkle with a little coarse kosher salt or sea salt and black pepper

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes

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Turkey Noodle Soup

Melt 1 tsp. butter or margarine in a large saute pan (Insert commercial here: actually I use Smart Balance, which is made with olive oil, is non-hydrogenated, has no trans-fats, has the omega-3 and omega-6 stuff that’s good for reducing cholesterol, is great for cooking and baking, and best of all: tastes good)

2 cups each, leftover carrots and celery sticks, chopped

1/3rd of a medium-sized onion, diced
Add carrots and celery and onion to the melted butter in the saute pan; braise for a minute or two to soften

Add 1 packet of Herb Ox sodium-free Chicken bouillon granules, dissolved in 1 cup hot water

Add 1 or 2 tsp. dried herbs; I used a McCormick’s blend called Herbes de Provence that contains rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory

Add 3-4 cups of leftover turkey, light and dark meat, cut into 1″ chunks

Simmer the broth, vegetables and turkey for about 5 minutes, then put all into a large deep cooking pot or dutch oven

Add 2 8oz containers of natural (low sodium, fat free) turkey stock

Add 1 can low sodium, fat free chicken broth

Add 5 cups water

Let it simmer on low heat while you cook the noodles:

Add 12 oz of medium egg noodles cooked according to package directions, drained

Let the pot simmer on medium-low heat; Makes a great big ol’ mess o’ soup.

Yum.