The holidays are a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate all that you have to be thankful for. For most this also means indulging on a feast big enough to feed a small country. Okay — maybe you’re holiday dinners won’t feed a whole country but if you’re like most families you’re likely to have enough leftovers to last a week.
Don’t let all that delicious food go to waste. Here are some tips for making the most of your holiday leftovers. One of the easiest options for dealing with holiday leftovers is to simply freeze them. Many holiday staple foods can be frozen and thawed to eat at a later time — perhaps Christmas or New Years.
One option is to buy disposable trays from the store that are sectioned off for different foods. You can fill each section with something different to make a complete meal. The tray can then be frozen and can be taken out thawed and heated to make a quick and convenient meal — perfect for enjoying a home cooked holiday meal at work.
Got too many leftover mashed potatoes and not sure what to do with them. With an egg and some bread crumbs you can turn those mashed potatoes into potato pancakes. Flatten out some mashed potatoes and dredge it in oil and some bread crumbs and fry it up. You’ve got yourself a delicious homemade potato pancake in half the time it would normally take.
Turkey is sure to be a holiday leftover. Fortunately there are many things that can be done with turkey leftovers.
One option is to simply take the leftover turkey and use it to make turkey sandwiches. A deli lunchmeat turkey sandwich just doesn’t compare to the taste of a turkey sandwich made from holiday leftovers.
The frame of the turkey, including scraps can be used to make a delicious turkey stock. Add a generous helping of celery, carrots and onions along with the turkey scraps into a stockpot and allow it to simmer throughout the day,
It should come as no surprise that leftover sweet potatoes can easily be turned into a delicious sweet potato pie. Just take the leftover sweet potatoes and mash them up in a bowl with some butter, sugar, milk, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once everything has been mixed together pour the mixture into a pie filling and bake yourself a delicious treat.
With a creative mind and a willingness to try something different you can quickly turn your holiday leftovers into something that can be enjoyed for weeks to come.
