The National Turkey Federation estimates more than 46 million turkeys were served on U.S. dinner tables this Thanksgiving. That is 736 million pounds of turkey meat.
Additional estimates of Thanksgiving favorites include more than 735 million pounds of cranberries, 1.9 billion pounds of sweet potatoes and more than 931 million pounds of pumpkins.
And today, millions of Americans have refrigerators full of Thanksgiving Day leftovers. So, instead of throwing the leftovers in a landfill consider whipping up some fun and easy left over recipes.
Empowher.com has included some easy recipes to concoct an easy family meal. Also, we included a couple of advanced recipes for the seasoned chef. For example, Parenting.com offers some great kid friendly and quick leftover recipes. Here is a quick sample of their tasty treats:
Thanksgiving Burritos
Place a line of sliced turkey meat and a dollop of sweet potatoes and stuffing inside a flour tortilla. Roll it up and bake, seam side down, at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes. Dunk in leftover gravy.
Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Chop up leftover light and dark turkey meat. Stir in some cold gravy, salt, and pepper. Layer the meat with mashed potatoes in a baking dish, topping with bread crumbs. Bake at 350˚F for 35 to 40 minutes.
Cranberry-Sauce Pancakes
Whip up your favorite pancake mix. Top them with warmed leftover cranberry sauce, ricotta cheese and orange zest.
Also, AllRecipes.com delivers some great creative recipes to give your Turkey leftovers a full makeover. The Day-After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup and the sandwich called ʺStuffyʺ are great family treats on a chilly evening.
Day-After Turkey Soup Ingredients
1 picked over turkey carcass (or 1-1.5 lb of cooked turkey)
1 1/2 cups leftover stuffing
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground sage
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
Garlic salt to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups (uncooked) regular long-grain white rice
1 (16 ounce) package frozen green peas
Day-After Turkey Soup Directions
Place the turkey carcass in a large, deep pot, and add the stuffing, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, sage, and chicken broth. Pour in additional water if needed to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 1 hour, skimming off any foam. Remove the carcass and any bones. Pick any meat off and return to the pot, discarding bones and skin.
Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper. Stir in the rice and return to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the peas, and continue to simmer until rice is tender, about 10 minutes more. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Stuffy Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
1 cup leftover roast turkey meat, shredded
1 cup prepared stuffing
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
Stuffy Directions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Spread mayonnaise on each half of the split hoagie rolls. Layer 1/4 cup turkey, 1/4 cup stuffing, 2 tablespoons gravy, and 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce on each of the four hoagie halves. Top each sandwich with the remaining 4 pieces of bread. Wrap each sandwich in aluminum foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the sandwiches are heated through.
If you are looking for something more exotic and have the patience, MexGrocer.com has several Mexican Turkey recipes at http://www.mexgrocer.com/mexcocina-turkey.html. The recipes include turkey enchiladas suizas, turkey breasts with chipotle salsa, turkey filling for tacos, burritos and tostadas, along with turkey tacos, turkey burritos and turkey tostadas. If you really have some extra time on your hands, we included their recipe for turkey tamales.
Recipe Ingredients:
Basic Maseca for Tamales
3 cups packaged Masa de Harina for Tamales, Maseca
2 cups lukewarm broth (from beef or turkey)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
Turkey Filling for Tamales
1 large package corn husks - about 24
4 lbs Turkey leftovers
4 cups water
10 dried red Poblano chile peppers
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup salt
Recipe Instructions:
Basic Masa De Harina for Tamales
Combine masa for tamales and baking powder in large mixing bowl. Mix in broth. Beat shortening in separate bowl with electric mixer until slightly fluffy. Add to masa mixture and beat until it develops a somewhat spongy texture.
Turkey Filling for Tamales
Early in the morning (up to a few days before Christmas), place the roast and water into a large pot or Crockpot and slow cook four to six hours, or until it shreds easily with a fork. Remove the meat from pot. Place in large bowl; add salt and shred, reserving broth for the masa and the filling.
Remove the seeds (using gloves so you don't burn your eyes!) and stems from chiles. Boil in a pan with one cup water for about five minutes. Transfer chiles to food processor and add cumin, pepper, garlic and enough of the chile broth to make a paste when all spices are blended together.
Add spice paste to turkey and mix thoroughly. Add as much of the remaining broth as necessary to make a delicately moist, but not watery filling.
Making the Tamales
Now comes the fun part. Divide the masa into 16 balls. Open up the corn husks and tear 16-1/4 inch wide strips off husks for typing up the tamales. Lay a corn husk on your counter and pat dry with paper towel. Place a ball of masa on it and flatten into a square shape. Put a heaping spoonful of filling inside.
Pick up the two long sides of the husk, fold them over into the middle and enclose. Roll the flaps of the husk in the same direction around the tamale. Fold the small, pointy bottom end up to close off the bottom and secure the tamale by tying it up in a bow. Repeat for all 16 tamales.
These can keep in the refrigerator for a few days before being steamed. To steam, line a steaming pan (Mexican or vegetable steamer) with extra corn husks. Put about two inches of water in the bottom of the pan. Gently place tamales inside and cover pan. Simmer until steaming hot-about an hour. (Short cut: You can also microwave them, a few at a time for about three minutes.)
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-economics-2010-11#242-million-1#ixzz16RkGjVUu
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101124-thanksgiving-2010-dinner-recipes-pilgrims-day-parade-history-facts/
http://www.parenting.com/recipes-article/Recipes/Holidays/Thanksgiving-Turkey-and-Stuffing-Feast--A-Week-of-Leftover-Dinners/4
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Day-After-Thanksgiving-Turkey-Carcass-Soup/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=49023462&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2010-11-26&prop28=DailyRecipe&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffy/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=49023462&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2010-11-26&prop28=RecipeOption&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1