Now that we’ve covered turkey day, it’s time to take a look at what to do with those leftovers. It’s almost my favorite part of Thanksgiving, trying to figure out a way to use all that leftover turkey because Mom will inevitably buy a 14-16 pound turkey no matter how many people sit around our table. I play around with the turkey because to me, that’s the least exciting part of the meal. I’ll eat stuffing, cold from the fridge without ceremony or dressing up because bread has my heart and I don’t see any reason to improve upon perfection (unless it’s crisped up in a skillet with a bit of cheese and a runny egg because, heaven). But turkey sometimes needs some help and for that I’ve got this Thanksgiving Leftover Green Turkey Chili.
My goal when reusing turkey is to take it as far away from parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme as possible and give it a whole new life with some zing. In the past, I’ve done it with this amazing Sri Lankan inspired turkey curry, these hearty and spicy enchiladas, a sandwich with a twist, and my ultimate favorite, cassoulet.
Seriously, cassoulet is in my top three meals that I make all YEAR and each year after Thanksgiving leftovers have come and gone I curse myself and ask myself the question of why I don’t make it more than once a year. But I still usually only do make it that one time a year, and frankly my life is the poorer for it.
Okay, enough waxing poetic about the cassoulet and let’s move on to the real star of today’s words, the green turkey chili. I can’t take credit for this recipe; Rachel Ray pioneered it years ago in a Green Chicken Chili. That recipe, stored in my Raggedy Ann binder full of magazine clippings, index cards, and handwritten scribbles, is easy, tasty, and takes some help by using a bit of ready-made store bought stuff, and I say after a day spent in the kitchen making the main meal, it’s welcome.
In reality, since nothing in this needs to be cooked for very long, the whole thing can be on the table in as long as it takes to heat everything through. I’d wager it’s on the table in 15 minutes. Set the timer.
The onions, seasoned simply with oregano, are really the only thing you have to ‘make.’ The turkey is already cooked, the stock comes from a box, the salsa base from a jar, and tortilla chips are cleverly used to thicken the chili and bring it all together. Serve it up with with extra chips, lots of cheese, avocado, onions – choose your own adventure. Then head back to your couch for football, family and whatever else you’re binging that weekend.
What are you binging that weekend? Let me know!
Thanksgiving leftover green turkey chili
November 21, 2019
: 6
: 15 min
: 15 min
: 30 min
: Easy
Thanksgiving leftover green turkey chili puts a new spin on turkey day discards, with some spicy green salsa, and tortilla chips cleverly used to thicken the soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken or turkey stock, warmed
- 1 pound leftover turkey, diced or shredded
- 3 cups tortilla chips
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 1 cup scallions, diced
- 2 tsp Mexican organo
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 14-oz can red kidney beans
- 1 1/2 cups jarred green salsa
Directions
- Step 1 Avocado, to garnish
- Step 2 diced onions to garnish
- Step 3 cheese, to serve
- Step 4 chips, to serve
- Step 5 In a medium bowl, add the chips and 2 cups of the warmed stock. Set aside.
- Step 6 In a large stock pot, add the vegetable oil and the scallions. Cook until soft, about five minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder and oregano and cook another 3 minutes. Add the turkey and beans. Add the remaining stock.
- Step 7 Puree the chip/stock mixture using a blender or immersion blender. Add to the turkey mixture, along with the salsa. Simmer for ten minutes until warmed through. Serve with onions, cheese, avocado as desired.
