A turkey has a lot of meat on it. What CAN you do with it all? This is not to mention all the other leftovers that are hanging out in your fridge. Turkey sandwiches are a given; they are awesome in their own right, but they are kind of ordinary. What if you want to go beyond the turkey sandwich and make something extraordinary with those leftovers? What can you do? Here are some ideas that takes that turkey to the next level.
Elevate Sandwiches
Start with some bread. How about some sourdough? Slather it with butter. Grill the bread. Condiments come first! Try some stone-ground mustard and some mayonnaise mixed with some leftover cranberry sauce. Cheese me! Brie pairs well with the cranberry aioli. Pile on some brown sugar bacon. Make it by rolling the bacon in some brown sugar or brown sugar Swerve and bake until crisp. Make some crispy slices of leftover stuffing by forming patties and frying it in butter for maximum crispiness. Place your crispy stuffing patties on your sandwich creation. Chop up some turkey and warm it with some gravy. Place your turkey and gravy mix on your sandwich. Wrap your sandwich in some aluminum foil and warm it in the oven until the brie melts. Boom!
Create a Never Eaten Before Casserole
In a greased casserole dish, spread some leftover stuffing into the bottom of a baking dish. Spread leftover cranberry sauce on top of the stuffing. Chop some turkey and mix it with gravy. Spread over the top of the cranberry sauce. Spoon some green bean casserole or broccoli casserole over the turkey. Top with mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes over a vegetable layer. Top with cheddar cheese if using mashed potatoes or white cheese if using mashed sweet potatoes. Bake until everything is hot and bubbly.
Stir Up a Soup
Use the turkey carcass to create a delicious broth for soup. Cover the carcass in water and add some chopped celery, onion, carrots, poultry seasoning and garlic. Allow simmering for several hours before removing the carcass. In a bowl, mix together a cup of cold mashed potatoes, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of flour, salt and pepper, Form the potato mixture into dumplings. Bring the soup to a rolling boil and drop the dumplings into the soup.
Shake Up the Leftover Pie
In a blender, add a few scoops of vanilla ice cream, 1 large slice of pumpkin pie with the crust, a cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Blend until smooth. Pour in a tall glass and add some whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with some additional pumpkin pie spice.
Swank Those Sweet Potatoes
Place those candied sweet potatoes in the food processor and blend until smooth. Mix the sweet potato mash, about 1/4 cup of water, 2 eggs, a half teaspoon of maple extract and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Process until smooth. Add 1-1/4 cups of flour and a teaspoon of baking powder. Process until a dough forms. Spread into a rectangle baking powder. Drop some of the cranberry sauce by the spoon full randomly over the sweet potato dough. Using a knife, swirl it through the cranberry sauce until the cranberry sauce is swirled together with the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
Roll Up Some Spring Rolls
Chop up some turkey and mix it with gravy.,1 Tablespoon soy sauce and a squirt of sriracha. Prepare some cellophane noodles. Wrap some noodles and some of the turkey mixture in a spring roll wrapper. Bake the spring rolls at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the leftover cranberry sauce in a saucepan until it liquefies. Serve the cranberry sauce as a dipper for the spring rolls.
Serve Up a Salad
Drop small teaspoonfuls of leftover stuffing into some hot oil and fry until crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. In a small bowl, whisk together a few spoonfuls of leftover cranberry sauce, some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside. In a bowl, layer some fresh spinach, chopped-up turkey, sliced carrots, sliced celery and some sliced red onion. Drizzle with the cranberry dressing and top with the stuffing croutons.
I could probably come up with so many more out-of-the-ordinary ideas for leftover Thanksgiving dinner. Take a walk on the wild side to see what you can conjure up. It will be delicious fun!
