Thanksgiving Leftovers: 15 Bean Stew

It’s all here: Turkey, roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, and…oh yeah. Gravy. This Friday, many will stand in front of a fridge filled with Thanksgiving leftovers and wonder “what to do”? Here’s a simple recipe that combines many of your “traditional” leftovers with 15 Bean Soup® to create a thick and hearty stew that is sure to please everyone, even those still riding a tryptophan high.

Some of you may consider it poor taste using delicious, leftover roasted turkey in anything other than a big ol’ sammich. As good as that is, the meat begins to dry out a little in the days after the big meal. Cooking a “liquid based” dish will help mask some of that lost moisture and after tasting this dish, you will not be disappointed that you didn’t throw that turkey on another piece of dry bed. (Although at midnight, under the light of your refrigerator, even I’m biased for that tried and true turkey, cranberry, and gravy sandwich.)

What you need: (Makes 12+ servings!)

1- Package Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup w/ Chicken Flavor

1-2 Cups diced turkey (Leftovers!

1- Cup diced celery

1- Cup diced onion

1- Cup diced roasted carrot (Leftovers!)

1/2- Cup cooked green beans (Leftovers!)

1- Cup mashed sweet potatoes (Leftover!)

1- Cup turkey gravy (Leftovers!)

2- bay leafs

5- Cups H2O

Mashed Potatoes (Leftovers!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Leftover chopped green onion from the Thanksgiving Butter Bean recipe! (for garnish)

1. Pour the beans into a colander or sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Sort through the mix and remove any debris or dirt that may be present. Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with at least 2″ of warm water. Allow the beans to soak for at least 3-4 hours prior to cooking. Drain any remaining water and discard, set the beans aside. Preheat oven to 375º.

2. Cut the roasted carrots into bite sized pieces. Then in a dutch oven or “oven safe” pot, sauté the celery, onion, and carrots in a few tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. When the onions become translucent (4-5 min.), add the diced turkey, green beans, sweet potato, and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and stir in the soaked beans. Add the bay leaf, cover the pot, and move to the 375º oven. Cook for 1 hour, stirring the mixture at 30 minutes.

4. After 1 hour, remove from the oven and stir in 1 cup of gravy and 1/2 package of Hurst’s Chicken Seasoning packet. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes while you reheat the leftover mashed potatoes.

5. Remove the bay leafs and add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Garnish with some of the chopped green onion and serve over some steaming mashed potatoes… a couple of biscuits or rolls work perfect for dunking… Enjoy!