Who hates to throw away leftover food? Me, Me, Pick Me! It just drives me nuts! You might as well open your wallet and dump your cash in the trash! Not to mention, there are a lot of people who are not fortunate enough to open a refrigerator and see shelves full of fresh fruits and vegetables.
On Thursday night, I made a sweet potato and black bean saute served over quinoa. Can you see a trend in my kitchen? Can't get enough of that quinoa! I had quite a bit of quinoa leftover, so today, the challenge was to use up my leftovers. Ohhh, the possibilities. Thinking a little bit out of the box, I decided to make a Turkey Harvest Salad. This salad inspiration came from Panera's Roasted Turkey Harvest Wheatberry Salad. I have literally eaten that salad from Panera three times in the past month. I have a bad habit of getting on a "kick" and eating one thing over and over again. I guess there are worse habits! I should be grateful it is a salad kick and not a cookie kick. How is that for positivity?
This salad definitely feels like fall with goodies like dried cranberries, walnuts, blue cheese, and a maple balsamic dressing. This would be a perfect way to use up leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving meal. You could even make the maple balsamic dressing a few days ahead of time so it would be ready to go. If you don't have quinoa, don't sweat it, this salad would be great without it too.
Turkey Harvest Salad
Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce or Spring Mix
Dried Cranberries
Walnuts, chopped
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Quinoa, cooked (I used 1/4 cup for one salad)
Turkey, sliced
Dressing Ingredients:
(will make approximately 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons whole grain or dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Whisk all dressing ingredients together in small bowl.
2. Add all other ingredients together in salad bowl. Toss salad with dressing. Use
1-2 tablespoons of dressing per serving.
This is so good you will gobble it right up. Pun, intended.
I am always searching for creative leftover ideas. Leave me a comment and tell me how you are going to use up your leftover turkey!
