If you carefully planned, thawed, seasoned, basted, roasted, carved and devoured a turkey on Thanksgiving, chances are, that you were lucky enough to keep most of the leftovers in your home – that is, after giving some of them away to your deserving guests!
After it is picked clean, this mama takes the carcass and boils it down with salt, pepper, garlic and onion to make a nice solid stock. This year the bones were so good that I got two big batches of it resulting in 16 cups of stock to use in soups for the winter (holla!). But for me, what to do with that leftover turkey?
I have issues with hunks of meat. Really. I think I could be a vegetarian if it weren’t for seafood and bacon. (Ahh, bacon…I am salivating.) All that to say, I am not one to throw a slab of turkey on bread and eat it after thanksgiving. I also don’t like my food to touch on my plate. That’s another story for another time.
So I make recipes using small bits of the leftover meat. I didn’t feel like making soup (read: I waited way to late to start dinner) and I stumbled across this delightful little recipe. It is adapted from Pinch of Yum. I say adapted, because as those of you who know me, I can never really follow a recipe. Ever. I like to be creative in the kitchen.
Southwest Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- some chopped up leftover turkey meat (I used 2 cups)
- 1/2 chopped red onion
- 1 red/green pepper, chopped
- 3-4 cups of baby spinach
- 1 T ground cumin
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 t garlic salt
- ⅔ cup turkey broth (or other broth)
- 2 15 oz cans of your favorite beans, rinsed
- 1-2 chopped seeded tomatoes OR 1 can of drained diced tomatoes
- ½ cup (2 oz) shredded cheese (I used cheddar and slices of longhorn because that is what I had!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Coat pan with olive oil. Add onion, pepper, sautéing for 4 minutes and stirring occasionally. Add cumin, red pepper, and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly (I added a tablespoon or two of water to keep things from sticking in the pan.) Add spinach and wilt.
- Stir in broth and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Mash beans to desired consistency. Mix in the turkey and heat through.
- Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with tomato and cheese. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. (It took my oven 20 minutes) Let cool for at least 10 minutes (otherwise it will be too runny).
- Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, on tacos, on a salad, or just eat it plain!
