Tomorrow morning I will be on Good Morning Arizona sharing 3 Brilliant ways to use Thanksgiving Leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I'll be incorporating a lot of whole grain goodness from Organicgrains.com in this one because I not only have the honor of using their grains often in my baking as part of my regular job but also because I love them!
Breakfast:
Puff Pastry (or Biscuit) Turkey Quiche Cups
1 package froze puff pastry*
8-10 oz cooked turkey, well seasoned
8 slices of bacon, sliced in 3 pieces (total 24 small pieces)
3 eggs, beat well
1/4 bell pepper, chopped fine
12 1 inch squares of Havarti or Swiss Cheese
Pepper to taste
Allow the puff pastry to come to room temperature and cut into 12 squares. Line the bottom of a muffin cup with the pastry up the edges. Put pieces of bacon and bell pepper in each cup and top with a few chunks of turkey. Fill cup with 1 Tablespoon scrambled egg. Put a nice little cheese top on the whole deal-eee-oh (no I really don't have a real technical jargon for the muffin thing-a-ma-gig...sorry.) Bake 425 degrees 13-15 minutes. Serve warm. Any leftovers need to go in the fridge.
*Variations:
Low carb: Omit the puff pastry and spray the muffin tins well with a non-stick coating (or line with a cupcake liner). Proceed with the recipe filling the cups as described.
Flavors: Change the seasoning using your favorite variety of fajita seasoning for a Southwest quiche, French herbs de Provance for a more classic flavor, Spinach to replace the bell pepper if desired. Play with these!
Lunch:
Start with the Sweet Potato Bread...
Chef Tess' Sweet Potato 5 Day Bread Dough
yield: 4 loaves
2T active dry yeast (over 3000 feet use 1 T only)4 cups milk, cold is best
3/4 cup honey Or Organic Maple SYRUP
1T salt
4 eggs (or 1 cup egg replacement)
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes. cooled to body temp again. The consistency of thick oatmeal.
1T baking powder
2T cinnamon,
2tsp ground ginger and
1T vanilla
2 cups Organic Grains Freshly Milled hard white wheat flour
12-14 cups organic grains bread flour (I have used fine ground white wheat and been fine doing all whole grain, use only 12-14 cups total if whole wheat is used )
Directions: Dissolve yeast in milk. Stir in honey. Allow yeast to get all foamy and look like it is having a hay day. Add egg, oil, mashed sweet potato, baking powder, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour spices, vanilla, and salt, in that order. Do not let yeast come in contact with salt on its own or it will kill the yeast. Beat until smooth. Allow dough to rest 10-15 minutes
Add enough of the flour remaining to make a soft dough that is easy to handle but not dry. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 full minutes. about 600 turns. Yea. 600 by hand. 5-6 minutes by machine on medium speed. Form into a ball and place in an ungreased 2 gallon bowl, covered tightly. If you don't have a large enough bowl...use two smaller bowls. Or...just half the recipe if you are worried. Put in the fridge. Punch down after 2 hours (this may be faster if you use warm ingredients or flour. If the dough is over 85 degrees when you put it in the fridge, be sure to punch down sooner. Also...if you have kids who open the fridge a lot, be sure to lower the temperature a bit so that your fridge is really as cold as it should be) Form into a ball again. Cover tightly and chill at least 8 hours.
Be sure to punch down daily (this not only expels gas, but also ensures even temperature in the dough). This dough can be made up to 5 days before Thanksgiving! So, it's nice to have around. It's also amazing to make into rolls instead of bread, should you choose to do something else. This makes four loaves. Four. I will only make one here, but you'll get the idea. Take one-quarter of the dough and roll it into a tight ball. I like to expel as much air as possible so it raises rather uniformly. Gather the dough at the bottom and make a tight ball out of the dough.
Place on a parchment lined baking stone or baking sheet, at least 12 inches by 10 inches. Allow to rise until doubled, uncovered, lightly misted with water. When almost raised, turn on the oven to 425 degrees. Bake 425 degrees 15 minutes and lower the temperature to 350 for the final 15-20 minutes of baking. Allow cooling. Slice and wrap tightly.
To make into the Turkey Grilled Cheese simply place a slice of the well-seasoned turkey and 2-3 slices of sharp cheddar on a thick slice of the sweet potato bread. Grill on the stove in a medium skillet over medium heat with melted butter until golden and toasted. Add a Tablespoon or two of cranberry relish and a drizzle of good balsamic. Garnish with minced fresh rosemary if desired.
Dinner:
Marinara Turkey Sliders with Roasted Garlic
In this recipe, I used the 4 Ingredient Make-Ahead-Rolls from Organicgrains.com. Or the Make-Ahead No Knead Cracked Wheat Dinner Rolls (pictured below). If you're still looking for great roll recipes, these will save your brain power.
You will need:
1 dozen baked rolls
1 lb cooked turkey
1 cup roasted garlic
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
12 slices mozzarella
1/2 cup Garlic infused Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil
1 cup parmesan cheese
Parsley, chopped (for garnish if desired)
Direction:
Cut a 1 1/2 inch circle out of the top crust of each roll and set aside. With each roll, remove a little of the soft interior or push it down with your thumb.
In each roll, add 1 1/2 oz turkey, 2-3 pieces of roasted garlic, 2 Tbsp Marinara, and1 slice of mozzarella. Top with the circle of crust that was removed previously. Brush with garlic infused olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
There you go! Make some awesome meals with all those Turkey leftovers!
Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess
