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Ideas for Thanksgiving Leftovers

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Originally published on November 27, 2021. Updated on November 25, 2022.


Now that you’ve seen all of the family and cleaning up that massive mess left by your family, friends, and fun-loving pets, you peer into your refrigerator and what do you see?

Tubs, and tubs of leftovers.

Every year, a large number of people simply have no idea what to do with massive amounts of food leftover from holiday functions.

Send Them Away

If your guests have contributed dishes to the menu, then it seems only fair to share the leftovers. Otherwise, you have to decide how you plan to divvy up the goodies. Whatever you decide, you need to be prepared if you plan to send some of the leftovers home with your guests. You should have plastic bags or tubs with lids so your guests can successfully and neatly get their food home.

Now What?

So, you have given departing guests some of the Thanksgiving bounties. What to do with the rest of it? Your leftovers can soon become the best part of Thanksgiving with the following healthy meal ideas.

Some Recipe Ideas

Potato Soup

Turn mashed potatoes into a hearty potato soup. Chop an onion and several stalks of celery. Fry a few slices of bacon. Sautee the onion and celery until soft, just for a few minutes. Break up the bacon. Add 1 cup of turkey broth (you did make turkey broth from the leftover carcass, right?) for every cup of mashed potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meat Marinade

Cranberry relish makes a great marinade and sauce for chicken and pork. Add as much orange juice as you have relish.  Mash together. You could add additional herbs and spices if you like.

Make a HotPot Meal

A little bit of this and a little bit of that left over in the fridge but not enough of any one thing? Try a hot pot. It’s based on an old Midwestern potluck dish. Layer in your leftovers — veggies, potatoes, stuffing — including turkey slices if you like. Cover with gravy. Cover the gravy with tater tots. Bake in 375 F oven until everything is heated through and the potatoes are crispy. Cover the potatoes with slices of cheese and return to the oven until the cheese melts. You want the potatoes to stay crispy so don’t leave the dish in the oven too long.

Vegetable Soup

Vegetables can be puréed and added to soups and stews or turned into a soup themselves if you add some broth and cream to the purée. Another option is if the vegetables haven’t been sauced with butter is to use them in a salad. The butter congeals when it’s cold and won’t look appetizing in a cold salad.

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

thanksgiving leftovers

Do you have leftover sweet potatoes? Try this to give them new exciting life. Put a small amount of water and oil in a medium pan and bring to a boil. Place the leftover pieces of sweet potato into the water and oil mixture and cook until warm, then add chili powder, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Blend using an immersion blender for 1 -2 minutes on a high setting (or you can use a blender) and pour the contents into a bowl. You can garnish with parsley. If you want a more creamy texture, you can add plain Greek yogurt. To turn up the heat, add some diced, sautéed jalapenos.

Things to Do with Stuffing

Stuffing can be a tough leftover to do new things with, but here are two ideas that are guaranteed to make you want to keep it around.

Turkey Stuffing Chili

You can make chili by boiling beans until they are halfway cooked and adding celery, onions, and green or red peppers. Once the mixture is soft to where the beans mash between your fingers, add bits of turkey and stuffing stirring it the entire time for complete mixing. Stir in chili powder, ground cumin, salt, pepper, and paprika. Turn off the heat and you’re done!

Stuffing Frittata

Take the stuffing and transform it into breakfast with this riff on a frittata, a baked egg dish. For every cup of stuffing, add 2 beaten eggs, ¼ cup of cooked breakfast meat (sausage, ham, bacon) and ¼ cup of grated cheese. This makes one serving. If you don’t have quite enough stuffing for your family’s breakfast, sub in frozen hash brown potatoes. Combine all ingredients and bake for 30 minutes or until the eggs are set.

Turkey Ideas

thanksgiving leftovers

Hot Turkey Melt

This one probably seems super obvious, but turkey can go a long way in a variety of meals. The easiest of which is to just make a sandwich. Take 2 slices of bread, if you want to get fancy you can use marbled bread, and slice the turkey as thinly as you can. In a bowl, mix a tablespoon of mayonnaise with a tablespoon of mustard. Spread the mustard and mayonnaise mixture on the bread, and dip the turkey. Place your favorite sliced cheese on both slices of bread and place the now-dipped turkey between the slices. Fry in a pan with moderate heat until the cheese melts.

The uses for leftover turkey are pretty much endless. Freeze packages of leftover turkey in amounts that would serve your family for one meal, then freeze. Use the turkey in chili, soup, stew, salads, tacos, burritos, wraps, and sandwiches.

What are some interesting things you do with your leftovers after Thanksgiving?





Loving Life — The Reboot!

Dominique

This article provides general information and discussion about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this article, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.

Ideas for Thanksgiving Leftovers

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