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With Thanksgiving coming up in a few days, most Americans have turkey on their minds. I decided to share a recipe this week I often make with some of the meat left from our holiday meal. Actually, I usually buy a bird during November when the Thanksgiving foods go on sale. I stow it in my freezer to take out and roast when the hectic holiday season has passed. Instead of serving the turkey whole for dinner, I divide the meat into meal-sized portions and freeze it to use in recipes over the next several months. Turkey is a tasty, healthy, versatile, and economical protein source and a staple for my family, especially in the wintertime.

Turkey Mushroom Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1-1-2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon sage
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked turkey, cut into ¼ inch cubes
4 eggs
2 cups milk
4 cups ½ inch bread cubes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. cook the onion till tender, about three minutes.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook till softened, about seven minutes.

4. Stir in rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, and turkey.

5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Blend in the milk.

6. Grease a 10 by 6 inch baking pan. Layer half of the bread cubes in the bottom of the pan. Top with the turkey mixture, then add the remaining bread cubes. Pour the eggs and milk over all.

7. Bake for an hour and twenty minutes, or till custard is set. Enjoy!

About the Author

Jo Elizabeth Pinto was among the first blind students to integrate the public schools in the 1970’s. In 1992, she received a degree in Human Services from the University of Northern Colorado. While teaching students how to use adaptive technology, she earned a second degree in 2004 from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in Nonprofit Management. She freelances as an editor and a braille proofreader and is a contributor of The Writer’s Grapevine Magazine where more articles like this may be found.

As an author, Pinto entertains her readers while giving them food for thought. In her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she draws on personal experience to illustrate that hope is always an action away.

Pinto lives in Colorado with her husband, her teenage daughter, her guide dog Spreckles, and an aging family cat named Sam-I-Am.

Her website is: http://www.brightsideauthor.com.