“reuse” your Thanksgiving Turkey for 2 more meals!

The frugal side of me loves to “remake” and “reuse” meals. I love to take leftovers or extras and make new meals out of them so that nothing goes to waste and we don’t get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. This really came in handy through some of our hard times. I’m not bragging, but I’ve made it into somewhat of an art form. 😉 One way to do that is after a big meal like Thanksgiving! If you are like our family, there is always so many yummy sides, there is plenty of turkey leftover to make a couple meals out of. One of my favorite ways to use it up is in “turkey” noodle soup! I like to make mine in the instant pot, but the crock pot or stove top would work just fine too! Meals like this are all about using what you have on hand or left over, so you can easily adapt it if you don’t have what I used. For instance, if I don’t have celery, but I love the taste it gives, so I use celery salt. You get the idea. The main thing is to “reuse” your leftovers and save some money and save some food!

Turkey Noodle Soup:

• 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
• 4 chicken flavored bullion cubes
• 2 cup of turkey cut up (obviously you can use more or less)
• 1/2 box of spaghetti noodles
• 8 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of celery salt

I dump all the ingredients in the instant pot and cook on manual setting for 15 minutes. Quick release and it’s done!

*This is pretty much the way I make chicken noodle soup also. It’s my kid’s favorite kind of soup so I make it often and usually with whatever I have on hand. It’s also pretty easy to adapt to stovetop or crockpot. Perfect for any winter day!

Turkey and Cheese Quiche:

• 1 uncooked pie crust (you can also use this recipe to make your own crust)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic salt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of cheese
• 1/2 cup-1 cup of turkey (cut or shredded)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix cream, seasonings, turkey, cheese, and eggs. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm and brown.

*This is a super easy and quick recipe that can be adapted and doubled easily. I like to make a couple and freeze them. They are great when you need a quick breakfast on the go or get tired of sandwiches for lunch. There are also many variations you can make. For instance, we like sausage and cheese for breakfast, chicken cheese and spinach for me 😉, a taco version for supper, and extra ham and cheese for Andy. It’s a great place to sneak in some veggies too! The possibilities are endless of what you can add and use!