Thanksgiving Leftovers

I am not sure I will ever be a regular blogger again but I will share what I did with all the Turkey and Ham leftover from our dinner as these two dishes are pretty awesome and easy.  The turkey is easy as the recipe for Brunswick Stew is already listed here under "Soups & Stews".  It's always easy for me because I usually have some Pulled Pork and Brisket in the freezer.  So to start I cook the turkey frame down till the meat is falling off the bone then pull the good meat off and use that in place of the BBQ Chicken.  The 14 lb turkey frame done in this manner always provides a cup or 2 which is plenty.  Add to that the frozen  1 lb ea pack of brisket and pulled pork and add to the the the turkey frame making sure there is enough water to cover and cook until all the meats are stringy and if you are a Brunswick Stew lover as I am you know what that looks like.  Now your ready to refer to the recipe and add all the other ingredient and finish up which takes 1 to 2 hours more.  Enjoy!  What about the ham?  I will just outline the recipe for this casserole for you and don't worry, it will be good as it has a short list of great ingredients.  We made one and took it to my sisters dinner which was a delayed Thanksgiving dinner because it just fit everyone's schedule better and it was so good we made another the next day for us.  So, just start by boiling 2 cups of large diced potatoes and 1 cup of large diced celery and cook for 20 min or till soft.  Here's a little tip:  some casseroles are more flavorful if the ingredients are not chopped up too fine.  Now dice about 2 cups of the ham (this can be small dice) while you fry 5 or 6 slices of bacon.  After frying the bacon gently saute a cup each of sliced onion and bell pepper and remove from the pan and add the ham and cook it, yes cook it again as it adds so much more flavor.  Now add back the onions and peppers and add to your casserole dish along with the drained potatoes and the chopped bacon mix it well.  Add a tablespoon of butter to the same pan and enough flour to make gravy with using 1 cup of milk.  When the gravy starts to thicken add 1 cup of cheddar then pour evenly over the casserole, add about 1/2 cup bread crumbs and bake for 30 min or until bubbling.  Easy and so good, we froze portions of it on a sheet pan and food savered for later.  I will add that the Brunswick Stew recipe I use here is one I took from a magazine many years ago and I love this stuff and have enjoyed it at many fine BBQ joints and this will stand up to any I have ever had.  If you don't have the pork and beef you might just get your crock pot out the night before.