Things to make after Christmas (or any other turkey dinner)

I have a confession to make: I actually meant to write this entry for Canadian Thanksgiving in October, then that got pushed back to American Thanksgiving in November and now, here we are at Christmas.

Since we didn't have turkey dinner at my house, we have a different set of leftovers to deal with, but if you did, here are two recipes that can help you out: turkey stock and turkey salad pita.

I've already taught you how to make turkey giblet stock, and turkey stock is pretty much the same thing, except there is no browning of giblets. You basically throw everything in the pot, cover with water and let it simmer as long as you want, and then you can freeze portions of it and add it to soup recipes that'll warm you up in the new year. Back in October, this recipe turned out really well because the turkey added this wonderful smokiness to the broth. Totally worth it, and you're not wasting the carcass.

Turkey Stock

• Turkey carcass, with as much meat removed as possible (although leaving some hanging on adds a bit of flavour)
• 2 onions, peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 celery stalks
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• Herbs that you stuffed your turkey with, if available
• Water
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all ingredients into a stock pot, then add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, letting it simmer as long as possible so the flavours come together (minimum 45 minutes).
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Strain broth into a large, wide container and let cool (you might have to stir it a bit) before portioning and storing (for food safety reasons)

(What's left in the pot after you pour out the broth)

The turkey salad pita recipe was inspired by the fact that my mom always made me chicken salad pitas when she was still packing me lunches. My mom used to steam the pitas so that they would soften up, but because this also weakened them, she would double-up the pitas. Once some guy at school was just walking by when I was eating lunch in the cafeteria and was just like "Whoa, look at how big that pita is!" to all his friends. I think I stopped bringing pitas to school for a while after that. I think this recipe "kills two birds with one stone" when it comes to leftovers because you can stick your non-turkey leftovers in it. For example, if you're someone like me and never buy celery except to make stuffing and stock, then this is a good opportunity to use it. If you have some leftover salad greens, then you can put that in too.

For this pita, I bought some yummy Pita Break multigrain pitas. If you go on their site, they have a lovely selection of large and small pitas, as well as breakfast pitas that come in flavours like muesli or apple cinnamon and lavash crackers that come in a variety of flavours as well.

Turkey Salad Pita

• Cooked turkey meat, shredded
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• scant 15 mL (1 tbsp) Miracle Whip or mayo
• 1 pita, halved
• Lettuce or salad greens
2 slices of tomato
• Cheddar cheese, grated

1. First you make your turkey salad: Mix turkey meat, celery and Miracle Whip in a bowl. You may want more or less Miracle Whip depending on the consistency you want.
2. Now you fill your pita halves: Place lettuce and tomato in pita, spoon in turkey salad to fill and top with cheddar cheese.

As with all sandwiches, you can get a little creative and add in your own favourite vegetables that you have on hand (for me, cucumbers, peppers and alfalfa sprouts come to mind), different types of cheeses, condiments, etc.