Transform your Thanksgiving Leftovers

Even after everyone stuffs themselves until they cannot take another bite, somehow, there always seems to be a packed fridge full of Thanksgiving leftovers (and chances are you were sent back to school with some).

The common Thanksgiving dinner may be enjoyable to eat the next day, but everyone knows how boring it can be eating the same meal all week.

However, with a few simple steps, leftovers can be turned into a whole new meal. Instead of throwing away your leftovers or being stuck eating the same turkey, try these recipe transformations to keep the feast going.

Turkey Sandwiches:

Turkey sandwiches are a classic and easy fix to do with leftovers. If you want a sweet flavor, try adding cranberry sauce to your sandwich. Also, if you have leftover dinner rolls, use them instead of sliced bread to make mini sandwiches.

The sandwich possibilities are endless with all the Thanksgiving food, so get creative.

Turkey Pot Pie:

What’s better than warm turkey? A turkey pot pie, that’s what.

For a meal just as enjoyable as Thanksgiving dinner, buy or make a pie crust and pack it full of a few Thanksgiving leftovers. You can substitute the vegetables in this recipe with any you may have left over for a pot pie, equally as tasty.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons of flour
  • 4 cups of chicken or turkey stock
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 cups of shredded turkey
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peas, thawed
  • 1 prepared pie crust
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Recipe:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, melt the butter in a saucepan and cook chopped onion until tender.
  2. Next, stir in celery and carrots and cook for about 2 minutes. Then, stir in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes.
  3. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add in the potatoes and simmer until tender. Continue by stirring in turkey, parsley and peas.
  4. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with pie crust. After, brush the crust with the lightly beaten egg.
  5. Bake the pot pie for 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Enjoy!

Turkey Soup and Stuffing Dumplings:
Soup is perfect for the cold weather and is always a great way to utilize leftovers. With the addition of stuffing dumplings, your soup will be filled with even more Thanksgiving flavor.

If you want to use your turkey carcass you can use it to make broth in the recipe below, but if you are feeling more time constricted use canned stock instead.

Ingredients:

  • 1 turkey carcass or broth
  • 12 cups of water
  • 1 onion, peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup of carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 bunch of fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1/4 tablespoon of black pepper
  • 2 cups of leftover cooked turkey, chopped

For the dumplings:

  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups of leftover stuffing
  • 1 tablespoon of chives, minced + extra for garnish

Recipe:

  1. In a large soup pot, boil turkey carcass with the 12 cups of water, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium heat for 1 hour.
  2. Remove the turkey carcass from the soup pot, skim to make sure no bones are left behind. As well, remove the bunch of parsley from the pot and discard.
  3. To the stock pot add in 2 cups of cooked leftover turkey. And, reduce heat to low.
  4. While the turkey is cooking with the stock and vegetables, make the dumplings. Combine flour, stuffing, two eggs beaten and chives. Mix well until all the ingredients are blended well together (the dumplings will be sticky). Make small golf ball-like sized balls and begin to carefully drop the dumplings into the soup pot. Repeat until you’ve used half the batter.
  5. Then, stir the soup and raise the temperature up to medium heat. Proceed to finish dropping in the remainder of the stuffing dumpling mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes.
  6. Grab a bowl, serve it up and enjoy.
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