My Favorite Leftover Turkey Rice Soup

(muchkneadedrecipes.com)

My favorite thing to make with Thanksgiving Leftovers is Turkey Rice Soup!  Below is the Recipe.  (I also love Turkey Pesto Sandwiches made with turkey, pesto, sourdough bread, and provolone cheese, all cooked like a toasted cheese sandwich!  Mmmmmmm.)  What are your favorites?

TURKEY RICE SOUP

1 turkey carcass

Leftover turkey

Cooked rice

Grated carrots

1 thinly sliced onion

Sage

Pepper

Salt

Boil one turkey carcass with the meat mostly removed along with an whole onion and a celery stick or two for 1-12 hours...however long you have time for.  Drain broth, and return the broth to the empty pot.  Add leftover turkey, onion, cooked rice, grated carrots, Sage, Pepper, and Salt to taste (You have to taste it because the amount of spice depends on how much broth you have.  Boil for 30 min.  Super easy and delicious!  (You can also make this in the crockpot, just put the finished broth, raw carrots (use sliced carrots for the crockpot), spices, and cooked turkey in on low for 4-8 hours, and add cooked rice at the end.)

Sunday Chicken

Note: Next humor story June 1st! May humor story posted below.

This recipe is what I love to cook on Sundays because it is almost no work and tastes like rotisserie chicken. (It's also a frugal way to make Sunday special)

1 family size package of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or leg quarters)
Seasoning salt

I usually have one of these packages of chicken in the freezer. I take it out of the freezer Sunday morning at 8 or 9am and cook it in the microwave for 10 minutes so that I can pry the pieces apart. Then I place them, still frozen, in a large crockpot. Season liberally with the seasoning salt. Cook on high all day until dinner time around 5 or 6pm. Remove chicken to a platter and keep warm. Make a gravy with the chicken drippings at the bottom of the crockpot. You may need to add salt to the gravy. Serve hot with rice or potatoes. (We don't eat the skin on the chicken, but cooking it with the skin gives the chicken and gravy more flavor)

(The leftovers from this meal make an excellent chicken pot pie! Just mix the chicken/potatoes/gravy together, add a frozen veggie and cook under a pie shell until done).

Lemon Chicken Couscous, the ultimate fast food

Note: Next humor story on May 1st. The April humor story is posted below.

I love to eat this for lunch. This recipe makes one bowl for one person. You can make more bowls for more people if you desire since it only takes 2 minutes to cook.

1/4 C couscous (can get in bulk section of grocery store)
1/2 C water
1 lemon
1/4 C ready to serve grilled chicken pieces (we get ours from Costco, or just use leftover chicken)
Salt and pepper

Put couscous and water in a bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Let sit 1 minute. Warm up chicken in microwave. Add chicken pieces to couscous. Salt and pepper to taste. Take a lemon zester and add the zest of the lemon to the couscous. Cut lemon in half and squeeze both halves over the couscous and chicken. Serve.

Chicken Quesadillas

Note: Next humor story Mar. 1st!

These Quesadillas are modeled after the ones at Chilis because my husband loves them.

1 package tortillas
Butter
Monterey Jack cheese, grated (or mozzarella)
1/2 pound cooked chicken, cut up (I use leftover or throw some frozen thighs in a crockpot in the morning so they're ready by dinnertime)

Optional ingredients: black beans (prepared) and mild green chilis.

Butter all the tortillas. Place half the tortillas butter side down on griddle. Sprinkle with cheese, chicken (and black beans and chilis if desired). Top with the other tortillas, butter side up. Cook until the bottom tortilla is crispy and browned. Flip and cook the other side until crispy and brown. Lift off the griddle and place on a plate. Slice into quarters with a pizza cutter. Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

Salsa Chicken

1 lb. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cups salsa
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Arrange chicken in a 9x9 pan sprayed with non stick spray. Mix together salsa and brown sugar to make a delicious sweet and spicy sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover pan with foil and cook at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Serve with sauce over rice.


(Note: Each Friday will be a new fast easy recipe and the next humor story will be Feb. 1st!)