Kung Pao Turkey- Using Leftovers

How was Thanksgiving?  Delicious and extremely filling I hope.  Any favorite dishes? 

We had an absolutely fun and delicious Thanksgiving! We ran a 5k and saw my doctor (the one who delivered my baby a month ago) running it as well; since I'm technically not supposed to run I had to hide from him the entire race. :)  We played Hand and Foot with the In-Laws a little later; they killed us the first game and we won the second.  We also had an absolutely delicious meal with our first ever crock-pot turkey.

Our large 8lb turkey breast that we cooked in the crock-pot was A.MA.ZING!  My husband is a dark meat fan, and before Thanksgiving he was a bit sad that there would be no dark meat.  However, he has absolutely loved this turkey.  The crock-pot kept the moisture in and provided such flavorful and moist white meat.  My husband has said multiple times that this is the best turkey he's ever had.  Another winner for the crock-pot!

We ended up just rubbing a smokehouse maple rub on the turkey, tossed in 1/4 cup water and some butter and let it cook for 8 hours.  It worked out great, and we are definitely doing the crock-pot turkey again.  

Like the majority of y'all we have loads of leftovers.  We've been eating Turkey sandwiches, butter biscuit turkey sandwiches, turkey cranberry butternut squash salad, and now Kung Pao Turkey.

This Kung Pao Turkey, though I totally wanted to write Kung POW but my husband said it would just be wrong, is full of flavor with hardly any spice, but you can totally kick it up a notch, perfect weeknight meal b/c it can be made in 30 minutes, and an all around pleasing dish for everyone.  My husband loved the flavor and how moist the turkey was (with the added sauce even dry turkey meat will be moist).  My kids loved how kid/toddler friendly the meal was, and I loved how healthy it was.  We were all happy. 

If you don't have any more leftover turkey feel free to use some rotisserie chicken.

Kung Pao Turkey

Recipe: Alohamora adapted from Food Network Magazine

Active Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients: 

1 c. rice, uncooked (or approximately 2 cups cooked)

3-4 c. turkey or rotisserie chicken, cooked and chopped 

1 tsp soy sauce (gluten free version if needed)

1 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 c. green onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 c. water

1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (gluten free version if needed)

1 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 pkg (12 oz) frozen peas

1/2 c. peanuts, roasted and unsalted

dash red pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook your rice.  I like these directions if you need a little help.
2. In small to medium bowl (I used a large 4 cup measuring Pyrex) toss your turkey and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and rice vinegar. 
3. In a small dish combine your green onions, garlic, and ginger. 
4. In a mug or small dish stir/whisk your water, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, cornstarch, and sugar.  Set it aside.  However, you may need to stir it again just before you add it to the pan.  
5. In a wok or large pan heat your oil over medium to high heat.
6. Add your peas to the pan and stir it periodically for 2-3 minutes until they are tender. 
7. Add the peanuts, turkey, and green onions mixture to the pan. Stir it all together and cook it for approximately 1 minute.  
8. Add the soy sauce/cornstarch mixture (stir it again if you need to before throwing it in) to the pan.  Cook it all together for 2-3 minutes, stirring it gently, until everything is evenly coated and the sauce thickens. 
9. Finally, if you want a little pow and spice to your stir-fry add a dash (or more) of red pepper and stir to combine it. 
10. Serve hot. 
11. Enjoy! 
12. Store leftovers in your refrigerator.  

Happy Kung Pao Turkey eating for a healthy and tasty way to enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.