An after-Thanksgiving dairy-free and gluten-free menu planner

By this time, you are probably in the midst of shopping for or planning your Thanksgiving dinner.  If you are still looking for ideas, you may want to check out Elana’s Pantry. She recently posted her Thanksgiving spread and it looks delicious.

However, have you thought about how you could use your Thanksgiving leftovers to create new, yummy dinners for your family? If you would like to add some variety to your post-Thanksgiving dinners, here are some ideas.

We all think of turkey sandwiches and turkey soup when trying to figure out ways to use up the turkey meat.  But if you are looking for some fresh and creative ideas, I’ve created this week’s menu planner just for you.  Not only are these recipes very quick and easy to make, they utilize what you already have in the fridge in order to make a delicious and new meal.

This week’s after-Thanksgiving menu includes:

Entrees:

• Turkey Sandwiches with Arugula-Walnut Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes
• Inspiration Turkey Soup
• Thai Style Turkey Sandwiches with Cilantro and Lime
• Spiced Kuri Squash with Turkey
• Turkey Sandwiches with Charmoula Mayo and Caramelized Onions (recipe below)

Side dishes:

• Rosemary Potato Bread
• Winter Squash Soup
• Cranberry Sweet Potato Bread
• Pomegranate Almond Salad
• Lemony Green Beans

Of course, if you don’t want to do sandwiches, you can also put GF pasta with the pesto and tomatoes, eat the Thai salad by itself and smother the turkey (or chicken) with the onions and mayo.  It would all be delicious.

Or, if you’re a vegetarian, this week’s menu can be used with fish, grilled portobello mushrooms or your choice of beans.

Also, if you didn’t host this year’s dinner and don’t have leftover turkey, you can buy chicken breasts and bake them for the sandwiches and soup.

You can check out the recipes for the “Kuri Squash with Turkey” and the “Rosemary Potato Bread” by clicking on the menu items above.  I am also including the recipe for “Turkey Sandwiches with Charmoula Mayo and Carmelized Onions” below.

Turkey Sandwiches with Charmoula Mayo and Caramelized Onions
Servings:  Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large sweet onions, slivered lengthwise

salt and pepper to taste

8 slices of cooked turkey (white or dark meat) You can also use baked chicken slices.

8 slices of gluten-free bread or Rosemary Potato Bread

Charmoula Mayo:

1/2 cup each of loosely packed cilantro and parsley

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

2-3 dashes of cayenne

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1 cup soy-free mayo or 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Steps:

1. Start by heating the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat.  When hot, add the onions and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown, for about 30 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. While the onions are cooking, make the charmoula mayo.  Put all of the charmoula mayo ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.  You can replace the mayo with olive oil if you don’t want to use mayo.
3. Make the sandwiches by layering the turkey meat, charmoula mayo and caramelized onions.  Enjoy!
4. Vegetarian?  Try grilling or sauteing Portobello mushrooms in place of the turkey for the sandwich.

   If you try any of these recipes, I would love to hear about it in the comments.  Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!