Happy holidays, Recipe Box readers! I hope your holiday season is filled with good company, love and happiness.

Turkey is one filling holiday food that gives us good proteins and lots of leftovers. There’s no reason to have a leftover-turkey sandwich when you read the Recipe Box, my friends. Behold, Tetrazzini: a great solution for the rest of the bird.

Remove all the meat from the bird for the recipe, and put the carcass, chopped onions, celery, carrots, pepper corns and bay leafs in a stock pot with purified water. Boil for about six hours on low and allow it to cool, skimming off the top layer of fat, and you’ve got a fantastic homemade soup stock you can freeze and have ready at a moment’s notice. No part of the bird needs to be wasted.

Turkey Tetrazzini is a Parmesan cheese lover’s dream! Buying a fresh chunk and grating it yourself makes a world of difference. Some people will use spaghetti or rotini as a substitute for egg noodle in this dish. Tetrazzini is not an exact science so feel free to modify it to suit your personal taste. Sometimes I will add sour cream when I am feeling naughty; other times I will add diced green chili when I am feeling nice.

The New Year is almost here and the Recipe Box will start with a “resolution series,” providing exceptionally healthy recipes to kick start diets, fitness and better living plans set into motion with the New Year. Enjoy yourselves and be safe!

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Coat a skillet with oil and put over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic, cook, stirring, until translucent, about three minutes. Add the mushrooms and herbs and sauté for three to five minutes until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mushrooms to a glass bowl, grate in the zest of a lemon, then cover with plastic wrap to infuse the flavor. Set aside.

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt butter in the skillet and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes. Whisk in the warm stock and stir vigorously to avoid lumps. Continue for five minutes until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Add the egg, milk, reserved mushrooms, and turkey. Cook and stir until heated through, do not let boil. Fold in the cooked noodles and mix to combine.

Spoon the mixture into a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking pan and smooth out with a spoon. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and Parmesan. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees until the sauce bubbles and a top crust has formed, 20 to 30 minutes. Garnish with toasted almonds before serving.