using leftovers | onedadskitchen

A Quick and Easy Use of Leftovers – Open Face Turkey Sandwiches

It is getting into that turkey time of year. For most of the year, turkey is kind of expensive and not something I buy very often, unless it is ground turkey. Even just getting a turkey breast can be kind of pricey. The other problem I have is unless we are having people over for dinner, it just doesn’t make sense to buy a huge turkey for just the three of us. That being said, last week I had a hankering for some turkey and bought a 15 pound one. Needless to say, after I made it we had lots of leftovers. I was able to use the carcass to make some turkey stock, which will be used in soups this week. I also made some turkey salad for lunches for Michelle and myself. That still left us with leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. What better way to make use of them then to make some open face sandwiches for dinner the other night?

Open Face Turkey Sandwiches

1 1/2 pounds leftover turkey meat, sliced

1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy (add some water to it if necessary)

1/2 cup leftover turkey stuffing

4 slices bread

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the turkey and the turkey gravy until the gravy is heated through and bubbling. Add more water or stock to thin out the gravy if necessary. Coat the turkey slices on all sides to make sure they are covered with gravy. Add in the stuffing and toss to coat and warm through, about 2 minutes. Toast the pieces of bread to your particular liking. Cover the toasted bread with the turkey, gravy and stuffing. Serve with a side of leftover mashed potatoes.

Okay, I know it’s not really much of a recipe, but it makes a great quick meal when you have lots of leftovers and just want something simple to use them with. You can also do the same thing here if you have any leftover chicken and gravy from a roasted chicken, or even with some meat dishes like a roast beef, pot roast or even a meatloaf with some gravy. If you would rather have a turkey panini, then I you can do that as well.it’s just a good way to make use of what you already have around the house without wasting anything and it is something to keep in mind as we get closer to the holidays and will undoubtedly have leftovers to deal with.

That’s all I have for today. Just a quick post this morning before you get on with the rest of your day. I have lots of recipes planned for the coming days, including several that make use of the slow cooker as we are getting into that time of year again and a few new soup recipes as with Fall comes the season of soup around our house. I also have some good ideas for some Oktoberfest meals if you are looking to do something fun with that (you can start by trying the pretzel recipe I posted yesterday). Keep a look out for all of those in the coming days and weeks. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Face to (Open) Face With Leftovers

19 Apr

So I have some leftover turkey from a few nights ago and some leftover roast beef from the other night, so what to do with them? Well we decided a good option would be to make open-faced sandwiches for dinner tonight. We can use the turkey, use the roast beef, use the gravy, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge. There’s not much to these recipes so they are pretty easy to follow, but I think you could pretty much wing them if you wanted to.

Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups leftover au jus

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 slices bread (your choice as to what you like best)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Leftover roast beef, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the au jus until smooth. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes.

Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Spread the mustard and horseradish, if using, on the toasts; place each on a plate. Pour some gravy over the toast; top with the roast beef and then more gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sandwiches with the leftover mashed potatoes.

Some people like to melt some cheese over their sandwich; it’s not my thing, but hey, if you like it, go for it. put the cheese on top and place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute, and you’re all set.The open-faced turkey sandwiches are just as easy:

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Leftover turkey meat, sliced

Leftover turkey gravy (if you don’t have any, you can make this quick gravy recipe)

Leftover stuffing (I have some leftover Stove Top I’ll be using; you can always make Stove Top quickly, or use your own recipe for stuffing if you have one. I haven’t posted one, but I will soon 🙂 )

Slices of bread (again, use what you like)

Salt and pepper

Heat the gravy in a large skillet until bubbly (if the gravy is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some stock or water). Add pieces of sliced turkey to the gravy and heat through, about 1 minute. Re-heat the leftover stuffing in either a small saucepan or the microwave (I did it in the microwave for 1 minute). Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Remove the toast from the oven, place on a plate, and cover the toast with gravy. Place some turkey slices on top of the gravy. Scoop some stuffing on top of the turkey slices; cover on top with some more gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the sandwiches and the leftover mashed potatoes, you’re just about all set. If you have any leftover veggies (and we do, so I am using them) add them to the meal, or make some fresh veggies as a side dish, or make a small salad and you are all set. You’ll have used up the leftovers for the week, which is a beautiful thing.

I’m not sure what I am making for dinner tomorrow. I am heading over to Adams Farms in Newburgh to shop tomorrow, and to pick up a $50.00 gift card I won from them (it pays to follow places on Facebook and Twitter!), so I hope to find something there to make for dinner tomorrow night in the seafood department. Tune in tomorrow to see what I was able to get. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on April 19, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Leftovers, Potatoes, Poultry, Sandwiches, Turkey

Tags: gravy, leftover roast beef, leftovers, mashed potatoes, open faced roast beef sandwich, open faced turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwiches, using leftovers

Lamb, Redux

20 Feb

Okay, so I have leftover lamb from dinner yesterday, leftover turnips and some mashed potatoes from a few days ago. This all adds up perfectly to make a Shepherd’s Pie. It will be quick, easy and a great way to use up the leftovers. You can make shepherd’s pie with ground beef instead of ground lamb if that suits your tastes better, but since I have the lamb anyway, and that is the traditional ingredient, than why not?

Shepherd’s Pie

3 cups lamb, cooked and diced

1 tablespoon butter

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 cups cooked and cooled mashed potatoes

2 cups cooked, pureed and cooled turnips

Take the 3 cups of lamb and run through a food processor until ground. Set aside. In a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas, ground lamb, broth and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spoon the hot lamb mixture into a baking dish. Spread the turnips over the top of the mixture evenly, then spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the top of the turnips. Place the dish in the oven and cook until the potatoes start to brown and the edges of the pie begin to show some bubbles, about 7 minutes. Serve directly from the baking dish.

You can serve the pie with some nice, crusty bread, which I’ll be doing since I forgot to serve the bread last night with dinner and have not heard the end of it from Michelle and Sean :). A quick meal, easy clean up and a good use of what is left over from previous meals.

Tomorrow’s meal will be from scratch and it’s going to be a good one. I’ll be making Chicken Marsala in the slow cooker tomorrow with some rice on the side. It’s the first time I’ll be making it in the slow cooker, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. If you have any questions, comments or any input at all, feel free to leave a comment or message here. I hope everyone had a nice, long weekend and enjoy your meal tonight!