Tasty Tuesday: Turkey BBQ Ranch Rice Bowls

I feel like I probably should have shared this recipe last week since it's a great way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but I already had my Vegan Chana Masala post ready to go so I decided to push this one back a week. The good news? This would be just as delicious with shredded chicken.

I know a lot of people love making turkey sandwiches with their Thanksgiving leftovers, but I've never been much of a sandwich person. I don't hate sandwiches or anything ... I just typically prefer other types of meals.

So when Eric's mom sent us home with some leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I wanted to come up with a simple but delicious way to use it without resorting to sandwiches. After searching our kitchen for random ingredients I could toss in with some turkey to make a filling and tasty meal, I came up with this very simple rice bowl.

I love rice bowls (some of my other favorites include this Chicken Veggie Avocado Rice Bowl and this One Pot Turkey Kielbasa Dirty Rice), so it's probably not too surprising that "rice bowl" was the first thing that popped in my head when I was trying to figure out what to do with my leftover turkey. (It probably also helps that we always have plenty of rice on hand!)

Even though this isn't much of a recipe (I mean, it really doesn't get much easier than this), I'm proud of it. I always feel really accomplished when I come up with something on my own (even if it's super simple), and I feel even more accomplished if I can come up with something on the fly using only random ingredients already lying around my kitchen. (Okay, I feel like a fucking rockstar when I do that, but that's a little embarrassing to admit.)

Anyway, this isn't the most beautiful or interesting meal I've ever put together ... But it's delicious. And simple. And cheap (especially if you already have these ingredients on hand). Clearly all of those things make this dish a winner.

Turkey BBQ Ranch Rice Bowls

A Divulge and Indulge original recipe.

Ingredient List:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken, if you prefer that), shredded or cut into chunks
• 1/2 of a large yellow onion, sliced into long, thick strips
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/3 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a cheddar Jack blend.)
• 1 cup cooked rice, for serving

Instructions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.

2.  Add the sliced onions to the oil and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until completely softened. (You'll want to stir the onions occasionally to prevent them from getting overcooked on one side.)

3.  Season the onions with the garlic salt and black pepper, then reduce heat to low.

4.  Stir in the cooked turkey (or chicken), BBQ sauce, and ranch dressing. (I chose to use a 1:1 ratio of the sauces, but if you'd prefer one flavor to stand out a bit more, you can adjust the amounts you use accordingly.) Stir the mixture several times to thoroughly combine, and allow to warm over low heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until completely warmed through.

5.  Top with shredded cheese, cover, and remove the skillet from heat. Let it sit until the cheese has melted, then serve over rice.

Like I said, this is really easy and it uses a lot of ingredients that most people probably have in their kitchen anyway. As written, this made enough for two fairly large bowls. It could easily be doubled (or tripled!) if you need to serve more people, though.