Foodista: Thanksgiving Leftovers Gone Gourmet
Happy day after Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that you all spent last night with friends, family and loved ones and ate to your heart’s content. I bet a lot of you have tons of leftover food from last night – from turkey to mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie – and sometimes, the kids (and even adults) just don’t want to eat leftovers. Well, I’m here to help you spruce up your plain old leftovers and turn them into delicious, easy to make, and totally crowd-pleasing pops, shakes, tarts and more.
Here are 6 ways to turn your leftover Thanksgiving dinner into gourmet treats that the whole family will devour.
I invented these tasty little creations last year and they were a hit! The kids loved them, the adults loved them, and they were a delicious and easy way to reuse the massive amount of turkey stuffing that we had leftover. For a step by step tuTORIal on how to make these, click HERE.
Ingredients:
- Leftover stuffing
- 1 egg (if you have a HUGE amount of stuffing leftover, use more eggs)
- Cake pop sticks
- Leftover gravy
- Diced cranberries
- Chopped pecans
Directions:
- Put your leftover stuffing in a mixing bowl
- Crack an egg into the stuffing to combine and bind the stuffing (last year I used an egg from my chicken Coco!)
- Cook the stuffing in a microwave for 1 minute
- Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (colder stuffing will roll easier into balls)
- After the stuffing has cooled, roll it into 2 inch balls and put on a plate
- Place the cake pop sticks into each ball
- Roll and coat each stuffing ball in cold gracy
- Roll the gravy coated pops in your condiment of choice - diced dried cranberries or chopped pecans (For this step, you can use any topping you want! Chopped water chestnuts or homemade bacon bits would be delicious too)
- Plate them and serve!
Cranberry Tarlets via MarthaStewart.com
This recipe uses leftover cranberry sauce and pie dough for a sweet treat that the whole fam will love!
Ingredients
- 12 (2 3/4-inch) squares of dough
- 6 tablespoons cranberry sauce
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Sanding sugar
Directions
- Arrange squares of dough in cups of a mini-muffin pan.
- Top each square with 1 1/2 teaspoons cranberry sauce; fold in edges.
- Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Beat together egg yolk and cream.
- Brush tartlets with egg wash; sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Bake at 400 degrees until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Turkey Samosas via RealSimple.com
For this savory bite, you’ll be able to use leftover turkey, pie crust and mashed potatoes. Kill 3 (leftover) birds with one samosa!
Ingredients:
- Store-bought pie crust
- 1 cup roasted turkey
- ¼ cup mango chutney
- ½ cup mashed potatoes
Directions:
- Cut 1 store-bought refrigerated rolled piecrust into 8 triangles. Mix 1 cup shredded roasted turkey with ¼ cup mango chutney.
- Top the triangles with the turkey mixture and ½ cup leftover mashed potatoes. Brush edges with water and pinch corners together to seal.
- Bake at 375° F until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
(Leftover) Pie Shakes via The Kitchn
Turning your leftover pies into a delicious (and super easy to make) shake?. This one is a no-brainer…
Ingredients:
- 1 slice leftover pie
- 2 scoops ice cream
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch cinnamon
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until well-combined and frothy.
- Serve immediately.
My Thanksgiving Leftovers Savory Pie
I made this last year the day after Thanksgiving, and it was amaaazing! Super easy too, and uses up almost all of your leftovers.
Ingredients:
- Mashed potatoes
- Stuffing
- Peas
- Turkey
- Pastry dough
- Warm gravy & cranberry sauce (to serve with)
Directions:
- Combine the mashed potatoes, stuffing, peas and turkey in a pie dish
- Cover the mixture with pastry dough and brush with egg wash
- Bake in the oven for as long as desired
- Serve with gravy and cranberry sauce
Thanksgiving Eggs Benedict via ClosetCooking.com
The perfect recipe for the morning-after your Thanksgiving feast…
Ingredients
- 2 english muffin, sliced and toasted
- 1 cup stuffing, warm
- 4 slices roast turkey breast, warm
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup gravy, warm
- 4 tablespoons cranberry sauce
Directions
- Place the muffin slices two per plate and top each with stuffing and a slice of turkey.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium.
- Crack an egg into a bowl, swirl the water in the pot and pour the egg from the bowl into the water and repeat for remaining egg.
- Let the eggs cook until the whites are set but the yolks are not, about 2-3 minutes and fish them out.
- Place the eggs on top of the turkey, cover with gravy and a dollop of cranberry sauce.
Yum! These recipes are a delish way to make your standard Thanksgiving leftovers into entirely new dishes.
What do you do with all of your leftover Turkey Day food? Will you be testing out any of these recipes?
Hope you all had a happy, healthy, delicious and family-filled Thanksgiving!
Love,
T
Recipe & Photo Credits: MarthaStewart.com, RealSimple.com, TheKitchn.com, ClosetCooking.com
3 comments
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Funny, I must be gearing up for the holidays, because I thought the turkey Samosas were Hamentaschen! -
I pack portions for my hubby to take to work for lunch. We also make lots of sandwiches and shepherd's pie! Loooove the stuffing pop idea!!!
www.asweetbite.blogspot.com -
Hi Tori, watched you years ago on 90210 and you just weren't my favorite character......sorry. I actually became a fan watching your reality show.....here and there. I couldn't believe what a smart, witty, and creative person you were. I couldn't believe the creativity with the kids parties, not to mention the wedding arrangement "demonstration" you put together in your home for a friend. I also laughed at your storage episode when you were emptying your storage and decided to open a furniture store. Now if I've flattered you enough, I gotta ask, is there anywhere I can get your french fry dipping recipes. I saw you whip those up on a whim and again, you've got talent girl, I can't even make thanksgiving gravy. My mom passed 2 years ago and after a couple of failures, we had KFC for Thanksgiving this year LOL. Love your creativity, its a talent for sure.
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