food
Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey
So you cooked a big bird for Thanksgiving, everyone enjoyed sandwiches a little later on in the day or even the next day and you still have some turkey left over. What's a girl to do with it? Why, make this Turkey Tetrazzini, of course! This one dish meal is a great way to use up that leftover meat. It's easy to put together and makes plenty for the whole family. This will be a dish you'll be making at least once a year, if not more!
If you cook a turkey like I cook a turkey, then you have A LOT of bird left over even after everyone makes a sandwich or two. This is the one day (ok, maybe one of two - the second being Christmas if I make dinner) that we have a BIG turkey, so I just go for it. No holds barred. All out. Whole hog.
We don't have too many dark meat eaters here in the 365 Days of Baking & More home. Wait, come to think of it we don't actually have any. So, this Turkey Tetrazzini is a great way for me to use that meat up! I hate seeing anything go to waste and when the dark meat is mixed in with all the other wonderful things in this casserole, nobody even knows the difference! It's a beautiful thing and it has lots of flavor, too.
This recipe by Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, has been my leftover turkey go-to recipe for the past few years. But as any good cook, I've changed things up a little bit here and there. Here's my family favorite version.
Turkey Tetrazzini Leftover-Friendly Recipe
serves 6 - 8
Ingredients for Your Turkey Tetrazzini
- 1 lb. thin spaghetti, broken in half
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounces white mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup good white wine
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups turkey broth, plus additional if needed (the store was out of turkey, so I used chicken broth and no one could tell the difference)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature and cut into small cubes
- 3 cups leftover turkey, shredded
- 2 cups frozen green peas
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan, divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Directions for Making Your Turkey Tetrazzini
- In a pot of boiling water, cook spaghetti until al dente, drain.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the mushrooms and salt and saute for a few more minutes before adding the cup of wine. Cook for a few minutes until about half of the liquid remains in the pot, enabling the alcohol to burn off.
- Add the flour and mix.
- Pour in the turkey broth, stirring until the mixture thickens. It's ok if it's not really thick. You want the casserole to be moist when it is put into the oven because it will be absorbed as it cooks.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cubes of cream cheese. They may not completely melt, but they will in the oven.
- Mix in the leftover turkey, peas, Monterey Jack cheese, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked spaghetti and mix until thoroughly combined. If the contents appears dry, add more turkey broth.
- Pour contents into the prepared 9 X 13-inch baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs.
- Evenly sprinkle the Panko mixture over the top of the dish.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.
What is your favorite part of the turkey? Do you like the white meat, dark, drumsticks or the wishbone?
Lynne Feifer
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