Thanksgiving leftover ideas...

We have 12 of the 14 pounds of turkey leftover and I am thinking about a few great uses... Recipes to come as they're made.

Turkey enchiladas
Asian turkey fresh spring rolls
Turkey chili -to freeze
Turkey salad with dried cranberries and tzatziki

Homemade (really easy) soft pretzel bites

I caught the last half of a morning talk show last week where they were making chocolately pretzels. While this didn't sound appealing, I loved the basic concept of using pizza dough to make soft pretzels.

I made homemade soft pretzels with marinara dipping sauce. for 5 hungry girls at our house tonight. They disappeared almost as soon as they were put on the table.

Here's the recipe:
1 package fresh pizza dough
kosher salt
garlic salt (optional)
marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously, and line a cookie sheet with a Silapt mat (if you don't have one, line with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

While the water boils, take small pieces of the pizza dough and roll into finger sized pieces. When the water boils, drop the dough balls into the water and cook until the pieces float to the surface, about 30-45 seconds.

Remove from water, place on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with kosher or garlic salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bites are light golden. Serve with a small bowl of marinara sauce for dipping.

-Options-
Drizzle boiled dough pieces with olive oil, garlic salt and grated Parmesan cheese, bake as directed.

Chinese chicken salad

I've been wanting Chinese chicken salad for about a week now and although it's the "wrong" season for salads, I decided to make it today. I knew it was going to make a lot, so I invited my friend over to join me.

The thing I love about salads is you really can add in whatever you have and make it work!

Here's my delicious recipe for Chinese chicken salad:

Salad
1 C. cooked shredded or diced chicken
2 C. shredded cabbage
2 C. romaine lettuce
1/2 C. chopped snap or snow peas
1 C. chopped cilantro
1 C. chopped celery
1 C. shredded carrots
1 C. thinly sliced red pepper
1/2 C. diced scallions (white and green parts)
1 C. mandarin oranges
1/2 C. toasted sliced almonds
1/2 C. fried lo mein noodles, ( I didn't have any so I crumbled up a package of Ramen noodles and threw that in instead)

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.

Dressing:
juice from 1 lime
1/4 C. rice wine vinegar
1/2 C. toasted sesame oil
1/4 C. soy sauce
pinch of sugar
1 cube of frozen ginger

Combine all dressing ingredients in a leftover jam jar with a lid, shake vigorously until combined.

This salad was really a snap to make and feeds at least 6 for lunch.