Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Pho

It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and we find ourselves with a refrigerator bursting at the seams, as we often do. This year was unique because we spent the whole weekend fighting and slowly recovering from a fairly nasty head cold. We were in and out of fever, but more importantly congested and exhausted for almost a full week.

To try and combat feeling run down, Heather was really hankering for pho. This Vietnamese soup has a reputation for having healing powers (for illness as well as hangover), and is something I’ve never actually experienced at a restaurant. We decided to create our own version of the show Chopped, and make pho with the leftovers in the house and our pantry. We didn’t even go out to find noodles or a noodle replacement, and instead added extra bean sprouts. Feel free to add your favorite noodle of choice.

We made our turkey broth with the carcass of the turkey, 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, a bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp of sea salt. We put the carcass in a stock pot and covered with water and boiled for 16 hours. If this is too much time, or you no longer have your bird, feel free to buy stock from the store—just be sure to read the label!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Salad

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year to make an insane amount of food and celebrate with friends and family. We had our first Thanksgiving as a married couple, and ate for several people. Despite our best efforts, we still had a lot of leftover food. Normally we package up our leftovers and ration them out for the week after Thanksgiving, but this year we wanted to try something different.

Mixing turkey with a homemade mayonnaise with our extra cranberries and pecan chips was fantastic. This spin on chicken salad is delicious and made the leftovers feel new again. You’ll want to give this recipe a try.

Real Life Paleo by Stacy Toth & Matthew McCarry: A Story, Review, Recipe, and Giveaway

Let me tell you about my first interactions with Real Life PaleoIt was late on a Saturday evening, after another fun event at Matt and Stacy‘s house. Stacy asked Heather and I, along with Russ and Janey, if we wanted to see the new book. Let me just say that their fantastic book, Beyond Bacon, had recently released; so to hear that they already had another book in the works was surprising, to say the least. (We barely keep up with writing one post each Wednesday!) Lo and behold we were presented with a clipped stack of printed paper that was the rough outline for what is today’s release. It’s been so much fun to watch this project come together (and even help with shooting the front cover), and we think this book is going to do a lot for the paleo community. Even if you have all the other books out there, don’t think this is just another generic paleo cookbook. It’s not. Let me explain…

Our 2012 Paleo Thanksgiving

We had a full house this Thanksgiving. Brent’s mom, Kathy, did an amazing job decorating the table for us.

Hey everyone!

We hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving and are recovering from the food comas with rest and relaxation this weekend. 😉 Having successfully hosted our first Thanksgiving, I (Heather) am feeling a bit sentimental.

Over the years, holidays have little by little lost their sparkle for me. Maybe it started when I realized Santa Claus did not exist. It was probably furthered by the bratty spell of teenage-hood, years during which I found myself fighting with my mom about everything. And in my early adult years, fewer and fewer of the holidays have been spent gathering the family in one house, simply for logistical reasons: my parents live in Wisconsin and we (their five daughters, four of whom are now married and three of whom have children) have lived far apart in different parts of the country–one as far as California for a few years.

Fiery Harvest Turkey Legs

Turkey legs are probably one of my favorite foods.  From the first time going to the Renaissance Faire to Thanksgiving, they stand out a lot in memorable moments growing up.  I always get a drumstick at Thanksgiving, and I always pass out promptly 45-60 minutes later for a few hours; there’s something about the leg that really makes you feel like a caveman/carnivore.  This was a fun experimentation with different spices and flavors, and I think it turned out fantastic.  I can’t wait to make this again sometime soon.

Fiery Harvest Turkey Legs:
2 turkey legs (approx 1.75lbs)
2 tbsp ghee/bacon fat/coconut oil
1 tsp whole coriander
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ancho chili pepper
1/8 tsp garlic
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
First you’ll want to take all of your dry ingredients and add them into your mortar and pestle and crush into a fine powder.  While you’re working on that, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
After you’ve mixed the ingredients, heat your fat and brush it on all sides of the legs as well as the inside of the baking dish you’re using.  Then cover legs with the dry rub.
Now they’re ready for the oven.
Bake for 90 minutes, and enjoy how the house starts to smell.  We took the opportunity to go for a run, and when we got back it was magical.
When you’ve wrapped that up, let them sit for around 5 minutes to cool, and dig in.  Silverware is optional.  
Also, keep an eye open for our upcoming giveaway––it should be live on Friday! NOW! Enter here!(Closed 9/28/12)