Raise your hand if you can barely close your fridge. That’s not how this was supposed to go down. You shopped for the big holiday meal. Your fridge was stuffed with ingredients. You cooked for days. Then the fridge was looking much emptier. You were hopeful, Now it is stuffed with leftovers and despair is setting in. I feel your pain so here are my suggestions. Repurpose those leftovers with these Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes.
The day after a holiday meal, most people like to heat up a plate for themselves and their family and have Thanksgiving all over again. After that, it can get a bit tedious. I try to send people home with food so I am not stuck with lots of leftovers. Sometimes, there is still too much. Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes to the rescue.
Here are four delicious and creative recipes to use up your leftover turkey, potatoes, wine, cheese, bread, and cranberry sauce. Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes:
Thanksgiving Leftovers Flammkuchen
These have got to be my best Thanksgiving leftovers repurposing idea yet. Admittedly, this is a little weird considering flammkuchen comes from Germany/France where they do not celebrate Thanksgiving.
So call them Thanksgiving Leftover pizzas if you like. The ones pictured have mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted Brussel sprouts, shredded roasted turkey and cranberry sauce. For extra crunch, I sprinkled some raw walnut pieces over the tops.
You can get creative with whatever savory leftovers you have in your fridge. String beans, creamed corn, stuffing all would work well. Sprinkle nuts or cheese over the top if you like. For a breakfast version, crack an egg on top before baking.
Bread, Wine & Cheese Leftover Casserole
Leftover cheese from the cheese plate appetizer, rolls, baguettes slices and whatever wine is left all can be combined in this casserole. This recipe is your one dish solution for repurposing those leftovers.
Of course, you can freeze the bread, use the cheese in omelets and drink the wine later or use in other recipes or sauces. However, this Bread, Wine & Cheese Leftovers Casserole does all that in one shot. Feel free to throw in leftover charcuterie and that cup or two of leftover stuffing as well.
Turkey Pumpkin Chipotle Nachos
These fall/Thanksgiving inspired nachos are all spicy, savory, sweet and I am so grateful for how great they taste. Roasted pumpkin, ground turkey and chipotle chilis in adobo sauce are layered over black bean topped tortilla chips and smothered in jack and cheddar cheese.
Replace the ground turkey in this recipe with shredded leftover turkey. Swap out the pumpkin for sweet potatoes. Dollops of cool sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped scallion rings finish off the dish. Use leftover dip instead of the sour cream.
Cranberry Turkey Gulasch
The recipe calls for a few cups of chopped turkey meat and some cranberry sauce. Serve over leftover mashed potatoes and you have a recipe that is a perfect post-holiday fridge cleaner.
The recipe starts with seasoning onions and garlic with sweet paprika powder then layering in the cranberry sauce and turkey pieces. Add some stock and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The result is a fragrant sweet and spicy gulasch encompassing the flavors of a Thanksgiving past.
