Left Over Turkey Casserole

In my home, when a recipe is good, that's a "do-over." In other words, make it again sometime.

After Thanksgiving, "do-over" takes on a different meaning. With all the left over turkey, the Mrs. tries to find inventive ways to "do it over." She's hit jackpot with this recipe, what I call, "Left Over Turkey Casserole." It combines the best of Thanksgiving-- turkey and stuffing-- and makes a great left over meal.

Here's the recipe:

3 lbs or so of left over turkey meat in bite size pieces
1 (10 oz.) can of cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) can of cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz.) package of herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 2/3 cups of turkey or chicken broth

Combine condensed chicken soup with 1 1/3 cups of broth. Mix well and set aside. Combine stuffing mix and melted butter; reserve 1/4 cup of stuffing mix for garnish. Spoon half of remaining stuffing mix into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top with half the turkey. Cover with chicken soup mixture. Repeat layers. Mix condensed mushroom soup with remaining half (1 1/3 cups) of broth and spoon over layers. Sprinkle with reserved stuffing mix. Cover and refrigerate over night. Remove casserole from refrigerator 15 minutes before baking. Uncover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.

If you're like me, after you enjoy this, you'll say, "That's a do over!"

Turkey Brine Recipe

Make your Thanksgiving a happy one.

How?

By brining your turkey! (Now wouldn't it be nice if Thanksgiving was that easy?!)

After eating a tough, dry turkey, I came across this brine recipe last year in USA Weekend. It definitely does the job of transforming your turkey into something special--moist and full of flavor. Give this a try:

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 bay leaves

1 Tb. black peppercorns

3 springs each of rosemary, thyme, and sage

6 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup iodized salt

3 gallons of cold water

You need to start on this brine recipe one day before baking your turkey.

In a large pot, prepare the brine--combining all the above ingredients. Then, with your (defrosted) turkey in a large pot or container, pour the brine over your turkey.

Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours (the longer the better I think)

Remove turkey from brine. Dry off turkey with paper towels. Discard brine.

Then, prepare your turkey as you normally would for baking.

If you've never done this before, I think you'll be real pleased. As for me, I'll never make another turkey without doing brining it first.

P.S. Dont forget the jellied cranberry!