Turkey Leftovers! YUM.

After hours and days and weeks of planning, Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving in its wake several days worth of leftovers.  While one could just eat the same plate of leftover goods day after day, the Nutrition Team has a few recipes for those looking for a little more pizzazz. 

 TURKEY AND RICE SOUP

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablspoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
•  3/4 cup celery, diced
• 1 medium potato, diced
• 4 1/2 cups of Easy Turkey Stock recipe
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
• 1 cup or cooked brown rice
• Coarse salt and fresh pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, potato, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey and rice, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

For extra-delicious rice, cook in Easy Turkey Stock, as opposed to regular old water!

Nutrition Facts per Serving / Makes 4 Servings

265 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fat, 23 grams of protein, 211 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of sugar.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

After hours and days and weeks of planning, Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving in its wake several days worth of leftovers.  While one could just eat the same plate of leftover goods day after day, the IFFS Nutrition Team has a few recipes for those looking for a little more pizzazz:

Turkey and Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
•  1 medium onion, diced
•  3/4 cup celery, diced
•  1 medium potato, diced
•  4 1/2 cups of Easy Turkey Stock recipe
•  1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
•  1 cup or cooked brown rice *
•  Coarse salt and fresh pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, potato, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey and rice, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

* For extra-delicious rice, cook in Easy Turkey Stock, as opposed to regular old water!

Nutrition Facts per Serving (Makes 4 Servings): 265 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fat, 23 grams of protein, 211 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of sugar.

 Easy Turkey Stock

Ingredients

• Bones of 1 cooked turkey
• 5 quarts of water
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions

In a large stockpot, combine turkey bones, water, onions, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, skimming occasionally, about 2 hours. Strain into airtight containers; cool completely.  Cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to 6 months.

For Breakfast:

Turkey Hash and Sunny-Side Up Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, diced
•  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•  2 tablespoons olive oil
•  4 teaspoons olive oil
•  1 small yellow onion, diced
•  3 cloves of garlic, minced
•  1 bell pepper, diced
•  1 1/2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped
•  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•   3 cups diced leftover roast turkey
•   8 large eggs

Directions

1. In a medium pot of water over high heat, bring potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, drain potatoes, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tbs oil over medium-low heat. Sauté onion and garlic, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, fresh herbs, pepper, and remaining salt, and sauté for 3 minutes more.
3. Increase heat to medium-high, add 1 tbs more oil, potatoes, and turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and stir to mix. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove hash from heat and cover loosely with foil.
4. In two large nonstick skillets over medium heat, heat 2 teaspoons oil in each. Add 4 eggs to each pan and fry until whites are cooked, about 4 minutes. Divide hash among serving plates and top each with a fried egg, taking care not to break yolks. Garnish with remaining herbs.

Nutrition Facts (Makes 8 Servings): 230 calories, 10g Total Fat, 481mg Sodium, 17g ,Carbohydrates, 18g Protein

 For Lunch

"Thanksgiving Leftover" Sandwich

The best Thanksgiving leftover sandwich is one WITHOUT a recipe.  The recipe provided is really flexible; substitute what you have on hand to make a delicious sandwich the day after .

Ingredients

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread
•  Slices of leftover turkey
•  A small scoop of stuffing
•  A small scoop of sweet potatoes
•  A small scoop of cranberry sauce
•  A handful of leftover salad lettuce

Directions

Toast bread.  Spread on cranberry sauce, sweet potato, and stuffing on one side of bread.  On the other side, layer on a light bed of lettuce, then place meaty pieces of turkey on top.  Carefully place the sweet potato stuffing side on top of the turkey side.  Cut in half and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts ( Makes 1 Serving): Dependent upon ingredients used.

For Dinner:

Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, sliced
•  1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
•  1 large red bell pepper, sliced
•  2 tablespoons olive oil
•  3 cups shredded roasted turkey
•  2 garlic cloves, minced
•  Salt to taste
•  8 taco shells
•  1 cup refried black beans
•  Cranberry Sauce
•  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•  1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
•  8 lime wedges

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400°. Sauté first three ingredients in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until onion is golden. Stir in turkey and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Season with salt to taste.
2.  Spread shells with refried beans; top with turkey mixture. Drizzle with a small amount of Cranberry Sauce. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
3. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and remaining sauce.

Nutrition Facts ( Makes 8 Servings) 296 Calories, 18g Carbohydrates, 14g Fat, 21g Protein, 337mg Sodium, 1g Sugar

A Turkey Day Surprise

Some Triangle families will be receiving a Turkey Day surprise this year thanks to area nonprofits. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) held our annual "Turkey Takeout" event this morning to distribute turkeys and all the fixings to local agencies who will then distribute them to families they serve. “When we called one of our patients to tell her she had been selected to receive the turkey dinner, she  broke down and cried,” said William Massengill, CEO for Benson Medical Center.   Massengill’s community health center is one

of 15 agencies serving low-income families selected to participate in the free turkey giveaway.

“We asked our physicians to identify the 17 patients most in need of fresh, healthy food.  These families are the poorest of the poor. They were not going to have Thanksgiving if it weren’t for this event.”

IFFS holds a fresh food Mobile Market every month at the medical center.  The center’s physicians write a “prescription” for fresh produce for their patients most in need, which they then use at the monthly market  to shop for free.

At this year's Turkey Takeout, over 30 volunteers helped load vehicles from 15 area agencies full of  turkeys  and veggies from US Foods, collard greens gleaned by IFFS volunteers at Burch Brothers farm, cabbage and apples from Ford's Produce,  sweet potatoes from FarmPak, and  rice and pies from other IFFS local donors - all for the families they serve.  Thanks to these generous folks, 250 more families will now be able to have a Thanksgiving meal.

Looking for a way you can help? Here's a list of more ways to help families in need this holiday season.

Turkey Takeout 2012

Inter-Faith Food Shuttle held its 6^th annual “Turkey Takeout” event this past Friday, November 16^th , distributing turkeys, fresh produce, bread, and pies for Thanksgiving meals to partner agencies and pantries for 500 families in need across the Triangle area this Thanksgiving.  Food is donated by U.S. Foods, Ford's Produce, and other food donors, as well as gleaned from farmers' fields by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle volunteers. This year, we were able to distribute:

• 500 Turkeys
• 1000 lbs of green beans
• 1050 lbs of cabbage
• 3596 lbs of collard greens
• 5000 lbs of sweet potatoes
• 1500 lbs of rice
• 332 lbs of bread
• and 1050 lbs worth of pumpkin pies!

Thanks to Smokey  Norris, Matt Blaisdell, and Bill McGehee of U.S. Foods; Melanie West of Ford's Produce, as well as their driver William; Lindsay Perry, our Local Produce Coordinator; the IFFS Warehouse  staff (Dennis Wooten, Crystal Green, Lance Coley, and Patricia Wallace); and the IFFS Food Recovery & Distribution staff (Don Eli, Elizabeth Rodgers, Tradell Atkins, and Joann O'Neal) for making this possible!

Among the 25 agencies and pantries receiving food to distribute to families they have selected who are most in need:

• Alliance of Aids Services Pantry, Durham
• Benson Medical Center, where IFFS hosts a Medical Mobile  Market, Benson
• Catholic Parish Outreach Pantry, Raleigh
• Church at Clayton Crossing, Clayton
• Community Helpers, Knightdale
• El Vinculo, Siler City
• Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, Dunn
• Family Life Pantry, Smithfield
• Freedom House Shelter, Chapel Hill
• Garner Area Ministries Pantry, Garner
• IFFS School Pantries in Durham
• New Jerusalem  - IFFS Mobile Market, Rocky Mount
• Passage Home, Raleigh
• Positive Generation, Princeville
• Regeneration Development, Pine Tops
• Tarboro Community Outreach Shelter, Tarboro
• The Oaks Community, Raleigh
• Universal Outreach Pantry, Wake Forest

While this distribution of food means that 500 more families will be able to enjoy a holiday meal this week, there are still far too many families who will go without. With 1 in 4 children right here in the triangle at risk for hunger, the need in our community is great.  What’s more, even as people are going hungry, about 130 lbs. of food per person ends up in landfills (USDA).  As a grassroots response to food waste at the local retail and wholesale level, our Food Recovery and Distribution Program collects healthy, perishable food from over 300 donors and quickly distributes it to agencies in the greater Triangle area on 13 refrigerated trucks.  Additionally, the excess production of area farms is a rich source of fresh, healthy produce. Our Field Gleaning Program connects farmers who have excess crops with people who need fresh produce. We bring a farmer-trained volunteer crew, gather the produce, and distribute it to people in need in our seven county area.

Find out how you can help area families need on our website here.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Turkey Takeout 2011

One out of four children are hungry right here in the Triangle. This past Thursday, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle held its 5^th annual “Turkey Takeout” event and distributed 500 turkeys, fresh produce, bread and pies to partner agencies and pantries for 500 families this Thanksgiving.  Without this distribution of food, hundreds of people in our community would go without a holiday meal. Thanks to community support, great food donor partnerships, our wonderful recipient agencies, and volunteers who braved the rain to come help out with this event, IFFS was able to distribute:

• 500 Turkeys
• 1000 lbs of Green Beans
• 7000 lbs of Sweet Potatoes
• 1350 lbs of Cabbage
• 1000 lbs of Collards
• 750 lbs of Croissants
• 625 lbs of Desserts

All of this will go to make sure 500 families who may otherwise not have been able to enjoy a traditional holiday dinner can now do just that.  Pre-approved agencies and pantries sent representatives to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to pick up the meals and distribute them to people living with food hardship. Fords Produce and U.S. Foods provided 2,350 pounds of vegetables (cabbage & green beans), Inter-Faith Food Shuttle's own field gleaning program provided 8,000 pounds of fresh sweet potatoes  and collards gleaned from local NC farms to pair with the 500 turkeys, pies and bread.

“These tough economic times make Inter-Faith Food Shuttle work even harder to end hunger,” said Jill Staton Bullard, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. “We are thrilled to be able to distribute holiday food for 500 families and are grateful to U.S. Foods and Fords Produce for donating fresh produce.”

Some of our recipient agencies included:

• Alliance of Aids Services – Durham
• Community Helpers – Knightdale
• Catholic Parish Outreach – Raleigh
• EL Vinculo - Siler City
• Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry - Newton Grove
• New Jerusalem Pentecostal – Rocky Mount
• Southern High School Pantry – Durham
• El Centro/Stoneybrook - Raleigh
• Tarboro Community Outreach –Tarboro
• Wake Relief – Raleigh
• West Durham Baptist – Durham

The story of EL Vinculo, one benefiting agency in Siler City:

Highlights from the day:

See more pictures on our Flickr or Facebook page!

Happy Thanksgiving!