One of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner is the leftovers, specifically, the leftover turkey. Jesse and I have done a darn good job plowing our 8.42 pounder down, but the other day I stopped him as he pulled it out of the refrigerator. I cut him off, so I could make this delicious turkey tetrazzini recipe. Now, we pretty much only have the wings left and not enough that I can really make anything with. I will be making some turkey bone broth with the carcass though. I’m wishing I had a bit more turkey meat, so I could make soup, but ah well.
Have you made anything spectacular with your leftover turkey or other Thanksgiving dishes? If so, please share!
Turkey Tetrazzini
Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups leftover turkey meat, chopped
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 Tbsp grass-fed butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk, plus more if needed
- 1/2 cup chicken or turkey broth, preferably homemade (plus more if needed)
- Dash of nutmeg
- Pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups frozen green peas
- 2.5 cups cooked spaghetti squash strands (~1/2 of a large squash)
- 2 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
- Fresh chives for garnish, optional
Directions:
- In a large pot or skillet, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and sea salt, then sauté for a couple minutes. Pour in the wine and allow it to cook with the mushrooms for several minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half. Once done, remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the remaining butter (3 Tbsp) to the pan you cooked the mushrooms in, over medium heat. Once melted, add the coconut flour and whisk together with the butter for a couple minutes. Next, slowly add 3/4 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup broth. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk for 5-8 minutes over medium-low heat, until mixture has thickened. Add the nutmeg.
- To the sauce, add the mushrooms, cooked turkey, chopped bacon and peas. Stir together and let cook for a couple minutes.
- Add the cooked spaghetti squash strands and season to taste with pepper and sea salt; stir to combine. Splash in more broth and/or coconut milk if needed; you want the mixture to have a little extra moisture since some of it will cook off in the oven. If it’s a little soupy, that’s okay — a lot of it will soak up, especially once it cools.
- Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve with fresh chives garnished on top, if using.
That looks so cozy and yummy!
I did a few posts on using up extra Thanksgiving veggies. Here’s what I did with squash — although I actually then bought more squash so I could make it again!
http://nourishpaleofoods.com/2012/11/27/quick-squash-and-beef-curry/
Thanks, it definitely is! Your recipe looks and sounds fabulous. I may have to try it myself!
I want to try this. I’m never brave with meals and cooking. But your site (and your site only) seems so feasible to me…not too overwhelming and filled with million ingredients unheard of.
I’m wondering though:
– what shoud I do if I live somewhere where there is no organic or free range anything?
– How many servings would this come to? And if many then have do you store things and re-heat?
– How long does it take to make, etc?
and also any other ideas for breakfasts? For someone who cant’ jive with the heavy breakfasts or much of anything, but needing to put in the solid effort of brreakfast?
You don’t post lunches much. Would also love to know whatcha do for those. And favored cookbooks? favored (simple) sites for recipes?
And have you considered creating a page/tab for a “recipe or recipage” section for your blog so all the recipes can be categorized and found easy?
Sorry for the novel 🙁
Hi Jill, thanks for the comment! First off, do the best that you can with meat. Can you at least buy locally? Often times small, local farms have higher quality meat, even if it’s not labeled as organic. Otherwise, I just say do the best that you can. Opt for leaner cuts or trim the fat off of fattier cuts (that’s where most of the toxins are in conventional meats). This recipe makes 4-5 meal-sized servings and probably takes about 40 minutes total to make (you can make the sauce and prep everything while the squash bakes, which takes 30-35 min). I stored our leftovers in casserole dish since it has a lid and reheated in the microwave, but you can do it in the oven too — just takes longer. For breakfast, how about eggs of your choosing (hard boiled, sunny-side, etc.), veggies and avocado or a two-ingredient pancake (mashed ripe banana and 1-2 eggs — I like to add cinnamon too and then eat it with nut butter on top). Breakfast can also be as simple as dinner leftovers — it doesn’t have to be breakfast specific. No, I don’t do lunch posts much because it’s usually nothing special — often leftovers or deli meat with avocado and veggies, and a piece of fruit. Sometimes I just eat a bigger breakfast and don’t eat lunch because I’m not hungry. I have posted lunch ideas before though (you can search “lunch” in my search bar). Yes, I have considered the recipe tab and will eventually do it, but don’t have the time with full-time school to set it up and organize it right now. You can always search in the search bar though, so I recommend that in the meantime. Favorite cookbooks include Practical Paleo, Everyday Paleo, Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals, and Make it Paleo. For sites, I love all the sites that correspond with these books, in addition to chowstalker, paleOMG, health bent, and many others. I highly recommend utilizing Google 😉
This was a hit, even with the hubby! Super tasty.
Yay, that’s fantastic!
My husband doesn’t like squash and I have never tried the spaghetti variety. He does love turkey tetrazzini and we have not had it since we went Paleo/Primal about eight months ago. Well, we didn’t have turkey until Thanksgiving. So today I took the leftover turkey out of the freezer, bought a spaghetti squash, and called my sister to find out how to cook it. I just told my husband we were having turkey tetrazzini, not mentioning Paleo, which he still thinks means something will be missing.
I followed the recipe except for the peas, which I don’t like, and added some extra wine and nutmeg, salt, and pepper. I used the whole can of coconut milk in the end and mixed in some grated Parmesan cheese. For the last 15 minutes of baking I turned up the temp to 425 and sprinkled more Parmesan on top. It was a little runny for classic tetrazzini, but he likes that. He raved about it and had three helpings. There’s just a bit left for my lunch tomorrow.
Thanks for a great hit of a recipe! I will never tell him he was eating squash!
That’s great, Donna! I’m so glad the recipe was a hit! Sometimes, it’s better to keep some things secret 😉 Sounds like you had fun adding your own twist to it too.
Rose48band doesn’t like squash and I have never tried the spaghetti variety. He does love turkey tetrazzini and we have not had it since we went Paleo/Primal about eight months ago. Well, we didn’t have turkey until Thanksgiving. So today I took the leftover turkey out of the freezer, bought a spaghetti squash, and called my sister to find out how to cook it. I just told my husband we were having turkey tetrazzini, not mentioning Paleo, which he still thinks means something will be missing.
I followed the recipe except for the peas, which I don’t like, and added some extra wine and nutmeg, salt, and pepper. I used the whole can of coconut milk in the end and mixed in some grated Parmesan cheese. For the last 15 minutes of baking I turned up the temp to 425 and sprinkled more Parmesan on top. It was a little runny for classic tetrazzini, but he likes that. He raved about it and had three helpings. There’s just a bit left for my lunch tomorrow.
Thanks for a great hit of a recipe! I will never tell him he was eating squash!
Hi Alisa,
I’m going to try this tonight but am going to mix it up a little which, according to my BF, I’m famous for! I have found a white yam or tofu based noodle that has zero calories or just 10 in the case of the tofu noodles. Also going to put in diced carrots rather than peas because BF is not a pea friendly person. Everything else is pretty much the same. It looks yummy for a cold drizzly day like we’re having here today.
Hi Kathy, hope it turns out well for you! I’d definitely go with the white yam noodles over the tofu ones. Kelp noodles are also a great alternative if you can find them. I just don’t recommend anything soy, but of course, the choice is up to you 😉
Delish! I followed the recipe – actually doubled it. My entire family enjoyed it.
Thanks,
Missy
Wonderful!