What to do with all of that TURKEY? Turkey & Dumplings

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at my house complete with lots of family, delicious food, and the best thing we had? - Lots of baby holding! We have several new baby blessings in my husband's family and thankfully we all got many turns at loving and snuggling the newest additions to our family.

But now... Thanksgiving is over. I still have too many freshly washed, empty casserole dishes and pie plates to return and no energy left to deliver them after I get home. The tables and chairs have been folded and put away. I have washed and stored the table cloths and fall decor. What else do I have left? Lots of leftover TURKEY!!

I vowed this year to use up that precious turkey so last night was meal #1 of turkey leftovers. So far, I made broth with the bones and was able to freeze several servings of turkey for later, saving some turkey for the dumplings and enough to make turkey salad (like chicken salad) for a few lunches this week.

My husband carved and deboned our smoked turkey on Thanksgiving and placed the carcass directly in a bag in the the freezer for "later". Later was yesterday!

I dumped the carcass in my crockpot and covered it with water before leaving for work yesterday morning, replaced with the lid and turned turned the knob to LOW - knowing it would make a deep and rich broth from which I could make many wonderful meals. That took a total of about one minute.

Last night when I got home from work, I made a hearty pot of turkey and dumplings. It was delicious! Here's how I made Turkey & Dumplings - Remaking Leftovers Into Something Wonderful - AT HOME MY WAY:

Turkey & Dumplings

4-6 cups - Turkey Broth
Leftover turkey chunks

Dumplings:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon lard, margarine, butter
2/3 cups + 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions for Dumplings:

Mix all dry ingredients, cut in the margarine/butter/lard, using a fork until all crumbly and well mixed. Add milk and stir with a large spoon. Using hands, knead a little and form into a disk.

Cut in half and roll each half on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin - to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3" x 3" squares. Use as many as you wish. Unused, uncooked dumplings can be frozen on a cookie sheet and bagged for the freezer for another meal.

Turkey & Dumpling Instructions:

Bring broth to boil in a pot on the stove. Drop in the dumplings and simmer. Stir only once or twice. Try not to stir much. After about 15 minutes, drop in the chunks of turkey. Stir to incorporate. Slow simmer for about 15 minutes.

To thicken, mix:

1/2 cup COLD water
4 Tablespoon flour

Mix until completely smooth in a small cup and then pour into the boiling pot of meat/dumplings. Stir. Simmer 10 minutes or so , stirring occasionally, until thick.

*Also pictured, Seasoned Green Beans.

Enjoy!

Gina

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At Home My Way

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