About a week ago I read an article about how publications and people are forever trying to come up with new and clever ways to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  The author wrote about how excited she was this year to be cooking the dinner, and therefore, to have the leftovers.  She then wrote about how her favorite way to use leftovers was to eat them in their original form.  Piled high on a plate and microwaved for a couple of minutes.

After I thought about it, I decided this is probably how most people use up their leftovers. I know I do. Especially if I am feeling super lazy, or don’t have any good bread and the rolls are all gone.  This year we went to Granny’s for the big dinner, the food was wonderful, and there were plenty of leftovers for everyone.

I opted to just microwave my leftovers.  But, if you are itching to try something different, the following recipe will turn your leftover turkey into something maybe even better than the original!  Gooey, melted cheese just makes everything better!

-1.5 lbs. chicken breast tenders (or left over turkey)

– ¼ c. grape seed oil

– ¼ c. dried cherries (diced)

– ¼ c. dried apricots (diced)

– 2 Tbsp. raw red onion (diced tiny)

– 2 Tbsp. raw celery (diced)

– ¼ c. pecans (chopped)

– 1/3 c. mayonnaise

-2 tsp. Dijon mustard

-S & P

–Havarti slices (8) (this is the brand I used, only sliced)

-White Rolls (8)

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with S & P. Heat oil in a large skillet. Brown chicken tenders (in batches) on medium high in a large frying pan until cooked through (4 to 5 minutes on each side).  Remove chicken from heat, let rest for 10 minutes, and then cut up into bite sized chunks. Or use leftover turkey cut up into bite sized chunks.  In a large bowl combine chicken or turkey, cherries, apricots, onion, celery, pecans, mayonnaise, and mustard.  Stir all ingredients until well coated and combined.

Next, slice your rolls in half, and arrange open faced on a cookie sheet.  Place a generous mound of chicken salad on top of ½ of each roll.  I kind of squeezed the chicken salad together in my hands like a crab cake so it would stay together a little better, the melted cheese will help as well.  Place ½ slice of cheese on top of the chicken and ½ slice on the bare side of the roll.  Broil in oven 3-4 inches away from the element until cheese melts.  This does not take very long, maybe 2-3 minutes. Keep a close watch on them!

Remove from oven, fold over, and then EAT!