Leftovers Galore!

Image found off Google.

I figured I might as well round out the Thanksgiving Series with what some people say is the best part of Thanksgiving...leftovers! As I have previously mentioned, I hosted the meal this year. My mom decided that she wanted to make a smaller turkey at home so that they could have their own leftover turkey sandwiches. This in turn left myself and Nick with a good amount of food in the fridge. I was determined to use all of it though in one form or another. Neither of us like waste and I also did not want to have to eat a Thanksgiving dinner every day. So, with the help of the internet and my somewhat creative mind, I created a few other concoctions with all of the remaining dishes. 



Potato Pancakes
This is probably a fairly common dish made with leftover mashed potatoes. They are simple and delicious and take very little time to prepare. I had just about 3 1/2 cups of potatoes left over which was just enough for 8 pancakes. I combined the mashed potatoes with about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (leftover from the cheese platter), 1 beaten egg, 3 tablespoons of flour, and a handful of chopped green onion. After forming the pancakes, I coated each side with flour and fried each side until golden brown. The fry pan had just enough oil to coat the bottom. Top with a dollop of sour cream and you have yourself a delicious snack or side dish. 

Fried Green Beans
I had a decent amount of green beans that I never cooked. I found a recipe for Beer Batter Fried Green Beans. For a dipping sauce, Nick's brother combined horseradish sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce. 

Cream of Turkey & Vegetable Soup
This is a good way to use up a lot of your leftovers. You can throw just about anything into soup. 
I used the remainder of the turkey stock I had prepared, turkey of course, and basically all of the vegetables that were left over. 

Turkey "Bolognese"
This week was my turn to host Girls Night. I still had a decent amount of turkey left and figured this was a good opportunity to use a lot of it up. I perused the internet for different ideas. I then came across a turkey bolognese recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis. Though I did not make it exactly how she described, her recipe still gave me the idea. I pulled out some of my frozen pasta sauce I had made a few weeks ago. I added in shredded pieces of the turkey breast and poured it over spaghetti. I made a caesar salad and cut up fresh Italian bread and we enjoyed a very hearty meal. 

Turkey Salad
After I had prepared all of the above dishes, I STILL had about half of a breast left. I was running out of ideas of what to make. I noticed an apple (leftover from the stuffing) sitting on the counter and thought to myself, I could do a spin off of a chicken salad. So I cut up the turkey breast into bite sized pieces and combined with the chopped up apple and slivered almonds. I then mixed in my desired amount of mayonnaise (some like a lot, some like a little)...add a little salt and pepper. Voila! Turkey Salad! It actually was pretty tasty. I liked having the apple in there for a touch of tartness. For a little more jazz add in some leftover cranberry sauce to the mix as well.