What Turkey, Christmas and Pizza have in common

turkey leftoversOne of the things I absolutely love about the big holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, is the big delicious feasts we have. All the decadent recipes we enjoy, from classic to traditional, to the new one you always wanted to try. So yummy! My mouth is watering just sitting here thinking about it (or maybe that’s the quiche I currently have in the oven?)

And of course there’s all the leftovers, usually enough at our house that we are eating turkey for a week before we tire of it and freeze the rest. Sometimes we’ll just enjoy the turkey on its own with the gravy, potatoes and leftover veg, or we’ll make something new out of the turkey, creating a whole new fantastic dish to enjoy!

From hot turkey sandwiches to omelettes and casseroles, there are endless delicious turkey leftover recipes to create. My absolute favorite though is hands down, turkey crepes. My mother found this recipe years ago, when I was probably 11 or 12. She made them one Boxing Day. I remember asking Mum what was for supper and looking at her like she was crazy when she responded. I thought ‘oh yeah those will be delicious…gross.’

Boy was I surprised. The rule in our house was that you always tried something once and if you didn’t like it fair enough, but you couldn’t say you didn’t like it if you had never tried it before. Plus that was what was for supper, if I didn’t eat it, there was nothing else. So I tentatively took a bite. OMG! These things were fantastic, they tasted just like pizza, but were lighter and fluffier. My sisters and I gobbled them up and eagerly asked for more. They quickly became the family favorite and the traditional dish on Boxing Day.

Now I make them for Christmas Day, as we have simplified the meal (and by simplify I mean reduce the amount of prep) on Christmas Day to allow more family time, and less time in the kitchen cooking. I have also adjusted the recipe to meet our dairy free requirements and they are just as delicious! In fact we have had a few guests over on Christmas Day and they are none the wiser (and also gobbling them up, in fact D’Wayne’s nephew requested the leftovers this year). D’Wayne too is also salivating as I am wrapping them up and putting them into the oven.

It is a fairly simple recipe, with some of the cooking being done easily in advance. I usually make the crepes a few days ahead (or if I am really organized earlier and freeze them), and the filling and final touches the day of the meal. Everybody loves them.

So if you are in need of a new yummy recipe for all the leftover turkey you have (or just want to try something new) definitely give this recipe a try!

Turkey Crepes

16-20 8″ crepes (recipe below)turkey

3c. cubed turkey

1/4 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

2 onions finely chopped

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 clove garlic, minced

2 – 5 oz jars artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

3 c. shredded Daiya mozzarella

1 – 28 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper

Crepes:

4 eggsturkey

3/4 c. water

1/2 c. almond milk

1 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

Crepes:

Beat eggs and stir in flour. Add water, almond milk and salt, mixing until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour to let flour absorb liquid (can be left in fridge overnight if desired). Just before making crepes, melt Earth Balance in pan; stir excess butter into crepe batter. Batter should be consistency of light cream. If batter seems a bit thick blend in more water to get it to the right consistency.

Pour 1/4 c. of batter into pan and swirl to form a circle. Cook crepe until lightly browned, turn and cook other side for 1 minute. Repeat with remaining crepes. Stack cooked crepes between layers of wax paper until ready to use. Crepes can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time and kept wrapped in the fridge. Crepes may also be frozen for longer storage.

Makes 16- 20 crepes

Filling:

In a large skillet, melt Earth Balance over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender.  Add mushrooms and continue cooking until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in turkey and half the artichokes. Heat through, then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place crepes on work surface with light colored sides up. Divide turkey mixture equally among crepes and roll up. Place crepes seam side down in a single layer in a greased 9×13 ovenproof dish.

In a medium size bowl, combine tomato sauce and remaining artichokes. Stir in basil and oregano and spoon over prepared crepes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

turkey

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serves 8


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Breakfast Foods Comfort and Ease! Sugar Free Waffles

I love breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day. I don’t know if it’s because I also love mornings that I love breakfast or if it is because there are so many yummy breakfast foods to choose from! Pancakes, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, waffles, cereal and toast! Oh and crepes, crepes are delicious, with all the different yummy fillings you can put inside. Yummy!

It’s no wonder that sometimes I like making ‘breakfast’ for supper. Not only is it easy and fast but it is a nice treat. I usually add in some fruit of some kind or maybe a veg depending what I am actually making, but you can never go wrong. The kids always gobble it up and get very excited when they hear that we are having pancakes or waffles for dinner. In fact Luke and Chloe start clapping, jumping and screaming in delight. (I do too actually, on the inside).

As with other foods that are our favorites I have had to adjust these recipes to a dairy and sugar free version, which is quite easy to do. By now I have got the substitutions for things down pat and am able to take any recipe and make the appropriate adjustments.

Last night we had waffles for supper. Waffles have always been one of my favorites, maybe because of the funky shape they come out in, maybe because it is another ‘bread’ type food and that is definitely one of my comfort foods. I like waffles because you can put so many things on them. You can put on the traditional butter and maple syrup or top it with fruit and ice cream or whip cream. I always find it fun as well to fill each little square with something. Yesterday I watched Luke do just that as he took blueberries and put one in each square of his waffle.

I have substituted date sugar in these recipes but have also used coconut sugar, which I tried with the plain waffles for the first time last night. Though they turned out lovely and tasted great, for some reason I enjoy the ones with date sugar better. Depending on your taste preferences you may choose to use one over the other as well.

You do need a waffle iron to make waffles of course and my recommendation is to go with a non stick one. It is so easy to clean afterwards, you just wipe it down with hot soapy water. Sometimes I brush a little Earth Balance Vegan Spread over the plates before I make the first batch of waffles, but that’s it – after that they are stick free and easy clean up!

So whether you are having breakfast or supper, try out these waffle recipes and enjoy them guilt free!

Plain Waffles

1 ½ c. flour

1 3/4 tbsp. date sugar or 2 tbsp. coconut sugar, optional I have made this recipe not using any kind of sugar at all and they do not affect the taste or turnout of the waffle

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 egg whites, room temperature

2 egg yolks

¼ c. Earth Balance vegan spread, melted

1 ½ c. rice or almond milk

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well. Beat egg whites until stiff. Using the same beaters, beat egg yolks in separate bowl. Add Earth Balance and milk, mix. Pour into well. Fold in beaten eggs whites. Cook in hot waffle iron until browned, using about 1/3 c. batter for each.

Makes 12 waffles

Chocolate Waffles (these are quite yummy! but the recipe is small. Definitely double it)

1 egg

3/4 c. rice or almond milkchocolate waffles

1 tbsp. cooking oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. cacao powder

3 tbsp. date sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Beat egg in bowl. Add milk, cooking oil and vanilla. Beat in. Add next 6 ingredients, mix. Cook in hot waffle iron until crisp, using 1/3 c. batter for each.

Makes 6 waffles

Orange Dessert Waffles

1 c. flour 

1/4 c. date sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Earth Balance, melted

2 egg yolks

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 c. orange juice

Measure first 4 ingredients into bowl. Stir together. Add butter, egg yolks and orange juice. Mix lightly. Beat egg whites together in a small bowl until stiff. Fold into batter. Cook in hot waffle iron until browned using 1/3 c. batter for each. Arrange waffles on plates, sift icing sugar over top if using.

Makes 10 waffles

All original recipes are from Company’s Coming Breakfast and Brunches. These recipes have been modified to a dairy free and sugar free recipe.