Let’s face it – the best part about a turkey dinner is the leftovers, particularly turned into a sandwich. Combining the turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberries in Pillsbury Crescent dough turned out to be a delicious idea – like a sandwich, only better! It’s warm and slightly gooey, and can be sliced and served in wedges – it’s big enough to feed a family, perfect for taking to go, packing in lunchboxes or serving with a tossed green salad for lunch or dinner.
We were asked by the folks at Life Made Delicious to create a recipe using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls – which are traditionally my sister’s contribution to the Thanksgiving table – and with tubes of dough and leftovers on hand, it seemed like the perfect fit. The braid is easier than it looks – unroll the dough and press the perforations to seal, then cut strips down each side, lay your filling down the middle and fold the strips over to enclose it. (There’s really no actual braiding necessary!) Once you’ve done it, you’ll likely come up with all kinds of combinations of ingredients to stuff it with – it makes great use of leftovers, whether it’s turkey, roasted chicken – even a chickpea curry with crumbled goat cheese would be fantastic!
Because we know how many of you like freeze-ahead recipes, if you like, you can assemble the braid and freeze it unbaked, and then bake it from frozen, adding about ten extra minutes to the baking time. A perfect way to tuck away turkey dinner leftovers for another day!
A tube of dough will make two braids – one to bake right away, and another to freeze. Brilliant, right? It’s almost worth planning for leftovers!
Stuffing, turkey, gravy and cranberries, all bundled up in soft, slightly sweet dough and baked until warm and melty = our kind of lunch. We used cream cheese to add creaminess, but you could crumble on some soft goat cheese, lay down strips of gooey brie, or grate aged cheddar overtop before baking. Thanksgiving is wonderful – but we’re looking forward to the day after.
- 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (regular or grand)
- 1/2 8 oz (250 mL) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup chopped cooked turkey
- 1/2 cup leftover gravy
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup leftover stuffing
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
- Unroll the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and press together the tear-apart seams. Leaving 2-3 inches lengthwise down the middle, cut down each side, making inch-long strips. (If you like, divide the dough in half to make two braids.)
- Drop the cream cheese in small spoonfuls down the middle. In a small bowl, stir together the turkey and gravy, and season it with salt and pepper if it needs it. Spread down the middle strip along with the stuffing, and top with cranberries.
- Starting at the top, fold over the side strips, alternating them to cover the filling. (Leave gaps to allow steam to escape.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and golden.
