Gobble Gobble.

Well, Christmas is finished for another year. Thank goodness! We had a wonderful time and I hope you all did as well. Now it is time to put it all away and get back to real life. After I have a few more days of rest, of course. After all of the eating and cooking and merry making, I am exhausted! We stayed home this year, no travel, just the three of us and had a quiet Christmas at home. But that didn't seem to make it any less hectic. There were several parties and last minute things that still had to be done before the big day. Presently, my turkey carcass is boiling down for turkey soup stock and I have two turkey casseroles in the freezer ready to heat and eat. I also made turkey salad sandwich filling with my new food processor. Turkey is versatile, delicious and a great source of lean protein. It is also fairly inexpensive this time of year, so even though we are a small family, we stuck to tradition and my husband went all out with a grand turkey feast on Christmas day while I was at work. I came home to a fabulous feast! I gladly helped with the clean up and took charge of the leftovers. First thing, I layered them into casserole dishes and popped them in the freezer along with the potatoes and gravy. Presto, two heat and eat meals ready for a busy work night. I had a coupon for $15 off this year, so we got a decent size turkey under budget. We'll have a ham for the New Year. No reason to pare down the festive feast when the leftovers, if taken care of properly, make things easier in the weeks to come. For the ham, I will shred the leftover for easy casseroles and freeze it in bags. Besides, I want to show my son that traditions can still be upheld, even if we are a family of three. I like cooking ahead, it makes things so much easier. I know that we can pull something out of the freezer and eat it with a minimal fuss and it makes resisting takeout even easier, especially since home made tastes so much better and we control the quality and portion sizes.
With all that turkey, I think I need another nap.
Do you have any great turkey recipes? Ideas for leftovers? Feel free to let us know!