There is a fabulous tiny restaurant within walking distance of our house that my husband and I sneak off to when the little boys are asleep, and the older boys are doing homework.
We like to talk to the chef while he pours us a drink, and he tells us about some of the exotic “local” ingredients his suppliers brought to him that day, and what “dish” he is planning to make. Then, he always gives us a taste. He has served us exotic mushrooms, truffle buttered popcorn, and caramelized leek flatbreads while he’s busy cleaning up the kitchen, the regular staff are saying good night, and the restaurant seats are empty.
When I told him that Hellmann’s® had asked me to use mayonnaise in a left-over Turkey recipe that included cranberries, potatoes, and mozzarella cheese, he smiled.
“Ahhhh,” he said, as he reached for an old French cookbook from his collection.
He couldn’t find the original recipe that night, so I am unable to share the original name with you. But he assured me that the combination was tried and true, and one that we would love.
When I settled down to pull out the turkey leftovers to make this French-inspired casserole, I checked the recipe details…making sure to reserve the mayonnaise into two sections–as you need one batch for the cranberries, and the second for the mashed potatoes. Keep all the layers separated and layer the ingredients on, one at a time. While the kids ran in from practices, and snatched cranberries when I wasn’t looking, I had the entire casserole ready to into the oven.
Finally, I pulled it out of the oven, and grabbed the bag of dried cranberries my boys had already grabbed off the counter, had opened, and were eating by the handfuls. I took what was left out of the bag and sprinkled them on top of the bubbly casserole.
My son placed it on the table and, with those glistening cranberries and stuffing, it almost looked like Thanksgiving again. By the end of the meal, when I was “stuffed” I still found myself grabbing another spoonful, just so I could ingrain the recipe into my taste bud-memory forever.
Sweet, creamy, and satisfying.
Too bad turkey leftovers only come once a year.
Hellmann’s® is on a mission to help us rethink leftovers and help us get through the busy holiday season. Mayonnaise, which is so utterly unpretentious, is simply made with good, basic ingredients, like eggs, oil and vinegar, and heart-healthy oils.
Each week, you can visit and vote at Hellmanns.com as Turkey Casserole goes head-to-head with other tasty, juicy turkey recipes. Vote for your favorite and enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win one of four $250 grocery gift cards each week.* (If there are more than 10,000 entries, the prize value doubles to a $500 grocery gift card!)
This weeks’ recipe is Turkey Casserole–although after tasting this, the word “casserole” barely does the name justice. Unless your Momma is French, this is a combination that may be unfamiliar to you. This is comfort food at it’s best: Sweet, creamy, and oh so filling.
Here’s the recipe:
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 40 Minute(s)
Ingredients: • 4 cups leftover prepared stuffing, divided • 4 cups coarsely chopped leftover cooked turkey (about 1 lb.) • 3/4 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, divided • 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce • 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes • 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 6 oz.)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray 8-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray. Spoon in 2 cups stuffing, then top with turkey.
2. Combine 1/4 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise with cranberry sauce; evenly spread over turkey.
3. Combine remaining 1/2 cup Mayonnaise, potatoes and cheese in large bowl. Evenly spread on turkey, then top with remaining 2 cups stuffing.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with dried cranberries.
Also terrific with Hellmann’s® Light Mayonnaise.
In addition to the contest at Hellmanns.com, BlogHer and Hellmann’s® are teaming up to offer you the chance to win a $100 gift card to cooking.com! For a chance to win, just leave me a comment letting me know your favorite way to use turkey leftovers during the holiday season.
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion, adding @hellmanns to the end of your tweet, and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
For more opportunities to win, visit the Hellmann’s Round-up page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ reviews!
For more information on the recipe contest or Hellmann’s® products and recipes, visit Hellmanns.com
*No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. The Hellmann’s Turkey Challenge is sponsored by Conopco, Inc., d/b/a Unilever. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 & older. Begins 12:00 a.m. ET on 9/12/11 & ends 11:59 p.m. ET on 12/5/11. For official rules, visit Hellmanns.com.
My favorite way to use turkey leftovers is in turkey sandwiches!
My favorite way to use left over turkey is to turn them into turkey, bacon and smoke cheese panini the next day for brunch. 🙂
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Just tweeted about this giveaway: https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/136738094849331200
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Good ole turkey sandwiches!
I don’t have turkey leftovers!
This looks fantastic! It makes me wish my husband wasn’t deathly allergic to turkey!!! Maybe I could try something similar with pork!
Thanks so much for a chance to win! And, have a GREAT day!
kmassmanATgmailDOTcom
Love to make turkey roll ups with pizza dough, turkey and stuffing inside
cold turkey sandwich with hellmans my favorite left over
babitababita@hotmail.com
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/zbabita5/status/136974293530722305
babitababita@hotmail.com
cold turkey sandwiches
my favorite is turkey pan fried with cajun spice added on rice! Thanks for this splendid giveaway
I tweeted at http://twitter.com/#!/anashct/status/137500901765169152
email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com
My absolute favorite?? A think turkey sandwich on soft white bread with lots and lots of mayo and jellied cranberry sauce. I could eat a zillion of them.
My favorite way to use leftover turkey is to make turkey sandwiches!!
I make turkey sandwiches.
I love turkey hash after Thanksgiving. You basically mix everything you have left together…turkey, gravy, potatoes, stuffing.
https://twitter.com/#!/justjayme/status/138718796344070144
We like using if for Turkey Cranberry Sandwich
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
tweet.http://twitter.com/#!/tcarolinep/status/138862420314689536
My favorite way to use turkey leftovers is turkey sandwiches with Hellmann’s Mayonnaise & lettuce.
ctong [AT] gmail [DOT] com
My favorite way to use leftover turkey is to make a pot pie.
I like to make pita sandwiches with them. Mm!
Sadly, there will be no turkey leftovers at our house, since we will be having Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws and they get to keep the turkey. We will, however, surprise them with another visit around lunchtime on Friday. So I’m going to go with turkey sandwiches. 🙂
fried rice!!
http://twitter.com/#!/HappyTina0115/status/139549183240708096
No big secret here, LOVE cold turkey sandwiches. Easy and really good.
gmissycat at yahoo dot com
Tweeted here too
https://twitter.com/#!/gmissycat/status/139647680287752193
gmissycat at yahoo dot com
I like to make turkey noodle soup.
tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/KerryBishop/status/139754321062535168
Turkey tacos and turkey sandwiches
https://twitter.com/#!/susan1215/status/139867314798600192
turkey pannini.. with cranberry relish and cream cheese. Yum!
Turkey pot pie is our go to recipe for Thanksgiving leftovers…it is a perfect way to use almost all of them!
It might be French-Canadian, but certainly not French. Simply because the very few areas where we could find cranberries do not use mozzarella.
I’ve been living in various French regions for 25 years: never eaten or heard of that.
Love making turkey pot pies! Yummy
We always make turkey noodle soup and freeze some for those nights when we need a quick fix for dinner
Tweet! https://twitter.com/#!/LAMusing/status/141290289561223168
I LIKE TO FEED MY LEFTOVERS TO THE DOG. SHE’S AS MUCH A PART OF THE FAMILY AS ANYONE ELSE.
We do grilled turkey and provolone sandwiches, and then freeze individual bags for my lunch. when the holiday eating frenzy begins, it is nice to have a healthy portion of good protein for a quick lunch. I also cube a few cups of turkey and freeze for turkey and veggie pot pies to come hot out of the oven on a cold Wisconsin winter day!
I tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/2sic2mooov/status/142021547274670080
thankyou!
I like to make turkey sandwitches with arugula and bread, this time I just ate them as snacks >.< Thanks for the recipe and giveaway!
songyueyu at gmail
I love making a big batch of warm-your-belly creamy turkey wild rice soup!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
i use turkey leftovers is in turkey sandwiches so good.
https://twitter.com/#!/purplelover04/status/142869288133464066
i just make turkey sandwiches
tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/flyergal82/status/143505954254766080
turkey salad!
i love a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce on fresh bread
nannypanpan at gmail.com
my favorite way to use turkey leftovers is with turkey sandwiches
i tweeted here:
https://twitter.com/#!/bellows22/status/143527948736143361
my tweet link didn’t show up before not sure why! : I tweeted here:
https://twitter.com/#!/bellows22/status/143527948736143361