Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving!

As most of you are preparing for a Thanksgiving feast today, it won't be until tomorrow when you realize you have a fridge full of leftovers and no guests to help you eat it! Eating straight Thanksgiving leftovers are good...for a day or two. But that quickly tires long before the perfectly good leftovers are gone.

So, what do you do with all that yummy turkey, stuffing and even cranberries? Here are a few ideas to help you use your Thanksgiving leftovers and enable you to spend less time cooking and more time with your family.

1. Sandwiches - I like to use the cranberries as the condiment of choice for my left over Thanksgiving sandwiches, my husband prefers mayo. But let's face it, you can pile anything on a yummy left over roll or slice of bread and it will be delicious! From turkey, to stuffing to even mashed potatoes, some even like to soak a piece of bread in gravy and put that in the middle of their sandwiches too! (Hey! I've heard of stranger things!) Yum yum yum!

2. Turkey Noodle Soup - Think chicken noodle soup with leftover turkey instead. Nice and warm on a cold fall day!

3. Turkey Pot Pie - Layer plenty of cubed turkey, left over chopped veggies and gravy in a pan. Even put a layer of mashed potatoes on there! Top with a left over, unused, premade pie crust and cook until the crust is browned.

4. Turkey Enchiladas - Cube or shred turkey. Place turkey, cheese and enchilada sauce on a tortilla. Roll and place in a pan. Cover all enchiladas with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are warm throughout.

5. Turkey and Stuffing Casserole - Cube several cups of turkey and lay in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Mix 1 pint sour cream and 1 can cream of chicken soup and spread over turkey. Next, put a layer of stuffing on top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until bubbly around edges.

6. Turkey Pizza - Why not? Either make or buy a premade pizza crust. Layer with sauce, cubed turkey pieces, maybe some chopped veggies or bacon and lots of cheese. Cook in the oven according to pizza crust directions.

7. Turkey Pineapple Curry - This recipe I found on About.com. I have not tried it but it looks yummy! Check it out here.

8. Salad - Lettuce, turkey cubes, cheese, nuts, cranberries, etc., throw caution to the wind and mix up a salad using all sorts of Thanksgiving leftovers.

9. Turkey Egg Rolls - Let's face it. You still have tons of leftovers but you don't want to feel like you are eating Thanksgiving every day! This will give your turkey an entirely new flavor! Buy egg roll wrappers. Chop up some turkey, green beans (from that green bean casserole I know you made but haven't touched since!) and maybe some mashed potatoes or stuffing. Throw it all in a food processor until the consistency is coarse; perfect egg roll filling consistency. Place in egg roll wrappers and fry (or bake) according to the wrapper directions. For dipping sauce, try mixing a little soy sauce in with left over cranberry sauce.

10. Cranberries - Still have more cranberries? Warm it up and serve it over vanilla ice cream. Or mix cranberries with cream cheese and use as a spread on bagels!

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving and happy leftovers!