Turkey, Turkey, Turkey

  

          Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Everyone over indulges without feeling guilty and you are doing it together in solidarity with your family and friends. In my family we always over estimate the amount of food that is needed with the thought of plenty of leftovers to hold everyone over just in case there is a national shortage of food for the next week. 

 Over the years I have become creative in seeking ways to use the leftover in some for other than Turkey Soup or Sandwiches. In the spirit of giving I have complied a list of some of my favorites finds to share with all!

Breakfast

• Thanksgiving Baked Eggs from Via Viands - Warm, cozy and delicious baked eggs with leftover stuffing, potatoes, squash and turkey (really anything that you have) make up this perfect brunch dish for the day after Thanksgiving meal. Serve it up with some coffee and spiked egg nog and you are good to go!
• Leftover Thanksgiving Frittata from Vanilla Late - A fritatta is truly one of the most amazing and simple breakfast dishes to make that will feed many, use few dishes and leave none hungry. As good as they are warm they are also good cold too. 
• Pilgrim Eggs Benedict from Brigs Restaurant - Poached eggs, over mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, or sweet potato topped off with some hollandaise sauce and cranberry sauce. Oh MY!

Lunch

• Curried Turkey Salad from Simply Recipes - Spread a little leftover cranberry sauce on toasted bread and scoop on this yummy salad instead of a regular sliced turkey sandwich. So Good...
• Turkey Bacon Avocado Sammy from the Hen Basket - serve it up warm with some melted cheese (I used Monterey Jack in place of Swiss,) need I say more.
• Turkey Cranberry Quesadilla  from YumSugar - Good for lunch or as a snack to share. However, be careful as they are addicting. 

Dinner (Round Two)

• Turkey Pot Pie from Full Bellies, Happy Kids - This is sure to be a crowd pleaser for all ages. 
• Thanksgiving Salad from Serious Eats - If you are feeling a little guilty about the third helping of green bean casserole and two slices of pie, then this is for you. You can boost up the veggies and use quinoa as substitutes. 
• Not Your Traditional Leftover Turkey Soup - Eating Well featured this yummy Squash and turkey Soup that can be made with the leftover Turkey. It has a little kick to it from the pepper flakes but, it is calmed by the lime juice. Add a dollop of Cabot's Low Fat Sour Cream or Fat Free Cottage Cheese and this is a healthy refresher from the previous day's feasting. 

  

Grilled Salmon and Avocado Salad

  Now that the 4th of July is past, it is time to move on from the hot dogs and hamburgers. I am not sure about you but, I am definitely burger and dogged out!
 With the hot summer days and nights it the perfect time for me to start perfecting my summer salads again. The last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and bring the temperature of the kitchen up by another 20 degrees. So... For the next 8 weeks my grill will be in over drive cooking up all the dinner table essential!
 A few weeks back I was looking for a light and flavorful salmon salad when I stumbled across this fresh little thing over at avocado.org. There were some slight changes that had to made in order to use the ingredients that I had on hand that came in my delivery from the cowtruck. Also, the whole thing came together in less than 30 minutes!!

Grilled Salmon:
 2 - 8oz filets of Salmon
 1/4 cup of olive oil
 1 tablespoon of Orange Juice
 Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Salad:
 1/4 a package of Olivia's Baby Spinach
 1/4 a package of Olivia's Mixed Greens
 1/2 a red onion sliced thin
 1/4 cup of English Cucumber Sliced thin
 1 orange, peeled and sliced (pith removed*)
 1 avocado sliced
 1/4 cup of Narragansett Creamery Salty Sea Feta Crumbled
 1 ear of fresh grilled corn off the cob
 1/4 cup of D.E. Vine Honey Balsamic Dressing 

Combine the olive oil and orange juice in a bowl with the salt and pepper. Marinate the defrosted Salmon in the olive oil and orange juice for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the salad ingredients (can be marinaded for longer in the refrigerator.) Grill over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on the bottom side, then flip and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.

 In a large bowl toss together the all the salad ingredients with the salad dressing until evenly coated. Plate the salad onto two plate or large pasta bowls and top with the grilled salmon. Serve and Enjoy!

 I have also served this same salad with a scoop of Quinoa or Couscous over the greens and under the salmon either warm or chilled. It is a great way to use up extra left overs that you might have in the fridge. Left over grilled vegetables are another great options too.
 Chicken, shrimp or cod can also be substituted for the salmon using the same marinade. Just make sure to adjust your grilling time.

 *Leaving the pith on the orange will cause a bitter aftertaste that can offset the flavors of the salad.