The turkey has been carved, the fabric of our clothes have been tested to their limits, we are in that blissful sleepy full belly phase of Thanksgiving…and there is still a fridge full of leftovers to be dealt with. For some, that means a weeks worth of meals just waiting to hit the microwave, but what do you do if you just can’t stomach the thought of a repeat Thanksgiving meal?

Here are some great ideas for your left overs that will magically transform your extras into something wonderful!
thanksgiving meal
Stuffing: Baked Egg Casserole. Chop up about 2 cups of  ham or a pound of sausage. Brown in a skillet with 1/2 cup chopped onion. In a greased 9×13 baking dish layer your meat/onion mixture. In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups of stuffing and 8 eggs beaten with salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of milk or heavy cream. If you have shredded cheese, throw that in as well, because cheese makes everything better! Pour over the meat mixture. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. If you have any french fried onions you didn’t use in the green bean casserole, throw them on top with some more cheese during the last 5 minutes of baking – uncovered. This is so yummy and filling that you can have breakfast for dinner!

The bird. The gravy. The corn and a pie crust: Turkey Pot Pie is an easy dish to throw together, but tastes like you’ve been slaving all day! Chop up your turkey into bite sized pieces, approx. 2-3 cups. Add a cup of corn and a 1 and 1/2 cups of gravy or a can of cream of chicken soup. Add to this a bag of frozen peas and carrots. Pour everything into a 9” pie pan and cover with a pie crust. Poke a couple of holes to vent and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until it bubbles. Serve with your left over mashed potatoes!

Cranberry Sauce: There is no shame in loving the gelatinous glop that plops out of the can. It is sweet and delicious and table ready in under 40 seconds. If you have some left, warm it in a sauce pan until it gets all melty like a thick syrup. Add plain old bar-b-que sauce from the bottle (about 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce to 1/2 bottle of bar-b-que) and  use it to glaze pork, meatballs, chicken breast or ham. Yes, ham. So good!

Mashed potatoes: Try this recipe for potato pancakes:

3 cups chilled left over mashed potatoes
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar
1/4 cup chopped, sautéed onions
1 egg, beaten
4 TBSP flour or Bisquick, plus extra for dredging

In a large bowl add all of the ingredients, mixing with your hands until combined. Divide into 1/4 cup portions and flatten. Dredge in the extra flour and pan fry in oil until brown. Serve with sour cream. So yummy. So, so, so yummy!

The other potatoes: If you make sweet potatoes baked in butter and brown sugar, or mashed sweet potatoes, this is a great way to recycle them! Sweet potato bread:

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon – plus 1/2 tsp. extra
1/8 tsp. salt
————————-
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar – plus 1 TBSP extra
1/2 cup of oil
2 cups left over sweet potatoes

In a small bowl, combine the extra 1/2 tsp. cinnamon with the extra 1 TBSP of sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, with your mixer on low, beat the eggs, sugar and oil until fluffy. Fold in the potatoes. Fold into the dry mixture. Pour into a loaf pan and sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Enjoy!

Whether you cook a feast, eat out, or order in, WPRP wishes you a fun and filling Happy Thanksgiving!