Leftovers get a bad rep.
Unfortunately for me, so do girls in their twenties who can vegetables.
And, just because I like my garden, putting food not flowers in Ball jars, and cooking more than going out to eat doesn’t mean that I am not like other twenty-somethings.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t like cocktails downtown with my girlfriends. Or Taylor Swift. Or Instagram. Or fun sparkly shoes.
But, because of my few “old-er lady” tendencies, I have made a conscientious effort to avoid things that might further drive this case home.
Potential Tweets about loving my vacuum and being really excited about my organized spice cabinet have been censored. I try not to let it be too well know that I belong to the library and use it… often. And blog posts with topics like freezer meals have been avoided… until now.
Freezer Meals have a reputation for being a busy mom’s BFF. Carting kids from one activity to another is apparently easier when dinner is already made at home in the freezer and just needs to be heated up.
I am not carting kids around yet, but I do have evenings where meetings go late and I still need to hit the gym. I have days where I have traveled for hours home from a university and have no plan for dinner. And, in the winter, there are plenty of evenings where the last thing I want to do is leave the house to deal with the grocery store.
Story of my life, I am here to break down the reputation: Freezer meals can be anyone’s BFF.
Soups are one of my favorite things to freeze. They defrost well and I also love how well soup stores in the freezer. I typically put the finished soup in a gallon freezer baggie and freeze it solid, flat on it’s side… so that I can save space and stack up even more meals.
Four days past Thursday, I am getting to the point where I am kind of over turkey. So, I decided to make this hearty turkey and rice soup with our left over Thanksgiving turkey so that I can enjoy it some other time when I am not on tryptophan overload.
It will be perfect for a cold January day. Maybe there will be snow on the roads and I won’t be able to go anywhere. Then, I can be thankful for this turkey twice.
And my new BFF.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 cup sliced carrot
- 8 tablespoons flour
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups milk
- 5 cups turkey broth
- 3 cups diced cooked turkey meat
- 1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
- 1 tablespoon dried herbs like oregano, thyme or sage
- Salt and Pepper
- Add oil and a little broth to a skillet with onions and carrots. Saute over medium high heat until nearly tender, but carrots retain a bit of their bite.
- Using a large stock pot, melt butter with medium high heat.
- Add flour to melted butter and whisk until combined.
- Keep whisking and add a quarter of the broth until mixture thickens.
- Still whisking, add remaining broth and milk and bring liquid mixture to a boil.
- Remove from heat when mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Add carrots, onions, diced turkey, and rice to liquid mixture.
- Stir, adding seasonings like salt, pepper, and herbs.
- Let thaw in refrigerator over night and then heat in the microwave or on the stove.
- OR,
- Cook frozen in a large saucepan adding a 1/4 cup water so not to burn over medium heat until warmed through and bubbling.
