You ate, ate some more and then ate again.
Now that you are as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey, it's time to deal with all those leftovers. While your turkey and trimmings were undeniably tasty, eating turkey with stuffing sandwiches (with mayo on bread) for the next week may not seem so appetizing.
So avoid feeling turkey'ed out by creating meals that are unique enough to keep your taste buds happy, but simple enough to use your leftovers with. Let's dig in!
Breakfast
Thanksgiving Leftover Breakfast Biscuit
Perfect for Black Friday early risers, this breakfast can be taken with you on the go. Just make sure to brew some coffee to help you get rid of your food hangover.
This leftover breakfast biscuit uses the real meat of the Thanksgiving meal: turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Because it is the morning after, chances are you are not sick of these foods. Scramble eggs or cook them in your style of choice. Using left over dinner rolls or biscuits, spread cranberry sauce on the bottom of the bread. Place a spoonful of mashed potatoes and then a thin slice of warm turkey before adding your egg.
Thanksgiving for breakfast? Sounds like an egg-cellent idea!
Turkey Holiday Hash
As much as you might love leftovers, you may want to pace yourself when planning on eating days worth of turkey and sides. What better solution than making this Turkey Holiday Hash? This hash tastes unique while still reminding you how much you love Thanksgiving food.
This recipe calls for turkey, stuffing, gravy and a few new ingredients. In a large skillet, stir sliced almonds until golden and put to the side. Saute onions, garlic and red pepper, and then add in the turkey. Cook for about 5 minutes before pouring in gravy and almonds. Let it cook until it has a golden crust, but still moist.
Serve over potatoes with a fried egg on top and enter your food happy place. See the full recipe here.
Lunch
After Thanksgiving Pizza
After all that cooking and cleaning, you may just want to order in a pizza the next day. But instead of spending the cash, put your leftovers to use so you can save refrigerator space using this After Thanksgiving Pizza recipe.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and pat out dough evenly on a greased baking sheet. You will want to bake the dough by itself for 10-12 minutes before baking with the other ingredients. You can customize this recipe to use left over sausage for Mexican pizza, or create an Apple-Goat Cheese, or Shrimp-Pesto version. For the Turkey Club Pizza, stir mayo and pesto sauce and spread over crust. Cube left over turkey and place on with tomatoes, red onion, Jack cheese, bacon and avocado.
Homemade pizza never sounded so good. See the recipes here.
Snack
Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey and Fixin' Pop Tarts
That's right, POP TARTS! Snacking just got so much better thanks to this creation. You can make your pop tart sweet, using sweet potatoes and cranberries, or savory using turkey, stuffing, pecans and walnuts. Or mix match your favs!
A variation of the popular turkey pot pie, hand pies and empanadas, these pop tarts will allow you to add as much "stuffings" as you wish without have the filling seep out. Heat them up in the toaster once they are baked for a quick snack that doesn't skimp out on flavor.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut dough into 9″ x 12″ rectangles and make notches using a ruler. Brush one beaten egg over dough and add filling using chopped turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, 1 beaten egg, (optional) cheese and whatever other toppings you wish. Leave 1/4-inch so you can seal your pop tarts with a second piece of rectangle dough. Bake for 30 minutes.
Snacking just became even more fun. See the full recipe here.
Dinner
Turkey, Sweet Potato, Watercress Salad
After treating yourself to second plates and sugary desserts, you may want to cut back on the calories. This salad is not only light and refreshing, but it is also rich enough to keep you full without sacrificing flavor.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and roast sweet potatoes and onion in extra-virgin oil, oregano, coriander, salt and cayenne pepper. Bake until tender and let cool. To make the dressing, whisk 2 tbsp of lime juice, 2 tbsp of oil and parsley in a bowl. Using watercress as the bed, add in vegetables, turkey, radishes and cheese and mix together.
We now have a new reason to start eating more salad! See the full recipe here.
Turkey Bolognese
By now, you may be sick of eating potatoes, stuffing and cranberries, but don't swear off turkey just yet. Turkey Bolognese is the perfect recipe to spice up your turkey meals. Because the turkey is already cooked, you will save lots of time preparing this pasta dish!
Heat oil in a frying pan and add onion, garlic, carrots and celery until tender. Add turkey and sauté for 1 minute before adding marinara sauce. Season to taste. Cook spaghetti as normal and pour turkey sauce, and veggies over pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
See the full recipe here.
There are countless ways to incorporate your leftovers into fresh and fun meals that will keep you reaching for more turkey. Bon Appétit!
[Photo Credit: Kristen Taylo/Flickr]
