It’s almost that time again. Black Friday isn’t just the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s the day when you’re left with the inevitable odd mishmash of leftovers from the big holiday feast.
It happens every year. Somehow, I can never prepare the right amounts to make us finish everything at the same time. If we could have a full Thanksgiving dinner twice (even three times), we’d all be perfectly happy with that. But it never works that way. The mashed potatoes and gravy will be long gone while we still have half a turkey left. No one wants to eat dressing day after day. And what do you do with that smidgen of cranberry sauce, when there isn’t even enough to pass it once around the dinner table?
Following a feast celebrating just how blessed we are, using up the leftovers can start to seem like a chore. How’s that for irony? So why not try to be different this year? Here are some ideas to turn those classic Thanksgiving dishes into something your whole family will love.
A Little Bit of Everything:
Maybe your crew can’t get enough of the flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner. If you want to have your meal all over again, but do it in a very unique way, this Turkey, Dressing & Cranberry Panini recipe from Michael Chiarello of the Food Network combines several leftovers—turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and gravy—in a sandwich. If you don’t have a panini press, a cast iron skillet (like one of Bridgitt’s favorites) works equally well, as does one of those handy George Foreman-type grills.
Cranberry Sauce:
- Heat whole berry cranberry sauce and maple syrup—a 1:2 sauce-to-syrup ratio is yummy and doesn’t let the cranberry overpower the maple—and serve it on our One-Bowl Buttermilk Waffles.
- Warm the cranberry sauce (either microwave or stove top works) and serve it on pancakes. For your little ones, try spreading the cranberry sauce evenly over the pancake and rolling them, then cutting each one in half or thirds to make fun finger foods that somehow manage to be less messy than eating the same pancake with a fork would be. My kids love to eat these “roll-ups” with jelly or Slow-Cooker Apple Butter, too.
- Mixing whole berry cranberry sauce with crisp fall apples transforms a classic apple crisp (like this easy recipe from Land-O-Lakes) into a festive cranberry apple crisp! Nobody will guess you used leftovers.
- Warm whole berry cranberry sauce, stir, and serve over vanilla ice cream with a sprinkling of chopped pecans. Simple, seasonal, and oh-so-yummy!
Mashed Potatoes:
A shepherd’s pie is a great way to use up lots of mashed potatoes, in a dish that seems nothing like Thanksgiving leftovers. This recipe from Campbell’s Soup uses pantry staples and comes together in just a few minutes. Omit the last three ingredients (the instant potatoes, milk, and butter) and use your leftovers instead. Try stirring a little garlic powder, parsley, and shredded cheddar into the potatoes for even more flavor.
Dressing (or Stuffing):
For our purposes, I’m using dressing and stuffing interchangeably. I know, some people are adamant that stuffing goes IN the bird while dressing is prepared on the side. But when Southern Living says they’re basically the same, that settles it as far as I’m concerned, y’all. So let’s get to business.
This recipe from Robin Miller of the Food Network replaces the more traditional potatoes with leftover stuffing, in a frittata. This would come together quickly and could be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
If you have a favorite breakfast casserole that uses hash browns or dry bread cubes, you might try substituting dressing instead. (At our house, we make stuffing with sausage, so we’re halfway to breakfast already, right?) Just be sure to reduce the liquids if you’re replacing bread and your stuffing/dressing tends to be very moist.
Turkey:
First and foremost, I know it’s tempting at the end of a long day to just be done already … but please don’t throw out the turkey carcass! If you can’t stand the thought of dealing with it immediately, chuck it into a plastic zipper bag and take care of it the next day.
After you’ve removed all the meat from the bones, everything that’s left from your turkey will make a flavorful, nutritious broth. This can be done on the stove top or in a slow cooker. Simply place all the bones in a large pot or a bigger (6qt.+) slow cooker. Depending on the size of your turkey, you may need to break down the carcass to fit … if so, just pull it apart until it fits. Add 1-2 onions, quartered, a large stalk of celery, and two or three carrots cut into large chunks. Throw in 2-3 bay leaves, a handful of whole peppercorns, and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Then, add water just until it covers the top of the other ingredients. (Too much water will leave you with weak broth.) On the stove top, bring this to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours. In a slow cooker, it’s very convenient to cook it overnight on the Low setting. Once cooking time is over by either method, allow the pot to cool enough that you can safely move it. Pour the contents through a strainer to remove the solids, and you’re left with a lovely turkey broth.
At this point, you can freeze the broth for later (you may want to chill it in the refrigerator and skim off any fat before putting it into freezer containers) or use it immediately. You can easily substitute this broth and your leftover turkey meat in any soup that calls for chicken, like the Chicken Tortilla Soup and Chicken and Root Vegetable Stew recipes from last year’s Soup’s On blog post. And of course, any soup will be better if you serve it with these amazing homemade biscuits from our beloved Ms. Sam!
I mentioned a Turkey, Dressing & Cranberry Panini earlier. If you’ve never made one before, a panini (which turns out to actually be the plural form of the Italian word panino, even though we use it as if it’s singular) is just a grilled sandwich—and I’ll bet every mom has made her fair share of those. It may not be exotic, but there’s something about a perfectly crusty sandwich, oozing melted cheese, that takes leftover turkey to a whole new level. Some of my favorites are:
- sliced turkey, pesto, and cheese (Provolone is great!)
- sliced turkey, avocado, bacon, and cheese with a spicy brown mustard
Make one of those combinations, and I promise no one in your family is going to say, “Oh, no, not turkey again!”
Another idea for using up leftovers without sending your family into Thanksgiving overload:
Turkey, Spinach & Cheddar Quiche
adapted from a recipe by Honeysuckle White
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. chopped leftover turkey
olive or avocado oil (for pan)
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic
1 bag fresh spinach (@10 oz.)
5 eggs
1/2 c. half-and-half or heavy cream
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (or more to taste)
generous pinch of celery seed
1 c. sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded
1 9-in. deep dish pie crust (unbaked)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Remove the eggs and 1/2 c. half-and-half (or cream) from the refrigerator and set out on the counter to come up to temperature.
Add oil to a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion, red pepper, and garlic until they begin to soften (3-5 minutes). Add the chopped turkey and raw spinach to the mixture, and stir until the spinach leaves have wilted. Remove skillet from heat, set aside, and allow to cool for several minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper, and celery seed, and whisk together. Stir in the contents of the skillet, and finally add the sharp cheddar cheese. Mix all the ingredients until they are thoroughly combined.
Pour the egg mixture in the pie crust. Place the unbaked quiche on a baking sheet, and using a strip of aluminum foil, cover the edge of the crust to prevent over-browning. Move the quiche to the preheated 350° oven, and bake for 65-70 minutes or until the center of the quiche is set. You can tell this by inserting a knife into the middle and pressing to one side. If liquid flows into the hole made by your knife, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. When the quiche is done, allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Download a printable copy of this recipe: Turkey, Spinach & Cheddar Quiche
Have you discovered a fantastic way to use up that Thanksgiving abundance? We’d love to hear it! Leave a comment below and let us know your best tips for using up holiday leftovers!
