Collard green and cornbread cake from DariusCooks

Top 10 Ways to Use Those Thanksgiving Leftovers

Don’t tell me that you do not have Thanksgiving leftovers in the back of the fridge. You look at them thinking “what the hell am I going to do with all of these mashed potatoes?” Or maybe it’s the turkey staring you in the face, as you cringe that it is one day away from going bone dry. Well….we have the fix for you! Add your leftovers in to these recipes and you won’t even realize that leftovers were included!

 

 

DSC_0175-332-x-500

10) Mashed Potato Latkes

My family usually just fried them in a frying pan, ut this is wayyyy better.

 

Collard green and cornbread cake from DariusCooks

9) Southern Fried Cake

Go ahead…I dare you.

 

img_1554

8) Turkey Salad

Personally, I prefer this for lunch over the gobbler sandwich.

 

7) Turkey Parm

This is a “two-for” deal for those Italianos out there. Take the ceremonial Italian casserole, plus the turkey and have at it, hoss.

 

laundry room turkey coconut curry soup

6) Turkey Coconut Curry Soup

Or you can make turkey noodle soup.

 

5) “Stove Top Stuffing” Sheppard’s Pie

YUM.

 

cranapplepie-564-x-496.jpg

4) Cranberry Pie

I mean…dessert never runs over to leftovers, so why not use your leftovers to make more dessert?

 

Warm Fall Kale Salad

3) Warm Fall Kale Salad

Make yourself feel healthy for a day.

 

stuffing

2) Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Stuffing

Turn thanksgiving into barbecue all in one.

 

spring-roll.jpg

1) Butternut Cranberry Springrolls

I personally hate springroll wrappers, but if you want to try your hand at it – good luck.

Turkey Extravaganza: Move Over Gobbler

img_1554

If you are a typical American, you likely still have turkey in the fridge and there are ongoing arguments about the date to throw out all of the food that someone said will be eaten. I believe the turkey can still be saved! While the gobbler sandwich (delicious roll embarrassing and unhealthy stack of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and often potatoes) is delicious, us Americans have short attention spans. Fear not America, there is another way to get your fill of leftovers before they kick the can.

Turkey salad. A festive spin on your chicken salad that includes the flavors of Thanksgiving. The sandwich is quite simple to make. I enjoyed mine atop a freshly baked roll. With just the right amount of mayo, the turkey salad provides a savory taste of Thanksgiving with a crunch of celery (the only thing celery is good for is texture), followed by sweetness of cranberries. I tell you folks – this may replace my gobbler. Bonus – you can bring this to work in a container without dropping all of the drippings on your tie. You’re welcome. Here’s the recipe:

Turkey Salad Sandwich

– Turkey (shredded or chopped into smaller pieces)

– Mayo (some like it loaded with mayo, some enjoy just a tiny bit) – think of how much you would add for chicken or tuna salad

– Chopped celery

– Dried cranberries (or just add cranberry sauce spread on your roll)

– Thinly sliced sage

– Salt and Pepper

– Onion chopped into small pieces

– Pinch of garlic powder

 

Take all ingredients and mix into a bowl. Put this on a sandwich, use crackers, melt cheese on top, eat it from a bowl. Whatever – it’s good.

 

Watcha Gonna Do With All That Meat?

IMG_2695

 

Forget summer weather or movie premieres. We ES-ers know that Memorial Day is the official start to one thing and one thing only: BBQ season!

Admittedly, some of us tend to get a little over-excited when it comes to how much meat is needed for one BBQ event. For others who find themselves headed into the first week of summer with an excess of leftover grilling, we’re very pleased to share this recipe from Andres Fernandez, the Executive Chef at the very delicious Morgan’s Barbecue in Brooklyn.

Andres’ recipe takes leftover BBQ brisket — whether from your own grill-out, or from roadside BBQ –and turns it into an amped-up sloppy joe.

Leftover Brisket Sloppy Joe

Read More

Stuffed Pumpkin 5.0: Bacon, Egg and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin

pumpkin1

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and those loyal ESers among you may have been wondering—what is Miss K going to cook inside a pumpkin this year?  (Or perhaps you had forgotten this annual tradition.  That would be understandable.  After all, it has been a whole year.)  Whether you are new around here or just want to refresh your memory, you can read about my other stuffed pumpkins here, here, here, and here.  For my pentannual pumpkin post, I decided to go in a different direction, mealwise.

Inspired by Mike’s round-up of butternut squash recipes, I recently made a butternut squash gratin, which bore a striking resemblance to my family’s typically breakfast casserole, but, you know, with squash.  As I was eating it, I had three thoughts: 1) I cut these potatoes too big. This has been a common problem for me lately.  More on that another day. 2) This would be better with bacon.  3) Aha!  I have discovered the secret to this year’s stuffed pumpkin!

And so, without further ado, I have just the recipe you need to impress your in-laws on the day after Thanksgiving.  That is, if everyone hasn’t already, at that point, vowed to eat only green leafy vegetables until Christmas.

pumpkin2

Bacon, Egg and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin

Read More

Eating Down the Fridge: Leftover Turkey Parmesan

I did not make a turkey this Thanksgiving.  I let someone else tackle that particular beast. And thus, my dear husband, suffering from leftover deprivation, cooked a whole gigantic turkey on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I am not sure if it can even be called leftover turkey if it never hit the table in the first place, but in any case, come Monday, we had a whole fridge full of the stuff.  I am always trying to eat down the fridge, but I was particularly avid this time because there was no room in our itty-bitty freezer for 10 pounds of bird. If you need ideas because you’ve still got turkey sitting around yourself (or if you have the type of husband who makes a second turkey after Thanksgiving) here’s what I’ve been doing:

Round one (Monday):Barbecue Turkey Pizza.  The dough was homemade, the sauce was Sweet Baby Ray’s and the cheese was Aldi shredded mozzarella.  I promise not to judge you if you use Pillsbury crescent rolls in place of the homemade crust.

Round two (Tuesday):  Turkey Tacos. As you know, Tuesday around here is Taco Tuesday, and I would have hated to break with tradition.  For the meat, I shredded 2 c. of turkey, then put it in a pot with  1 T. chili powder, 1 T. cumin, 1 T. oregano and 1 t. salt + 1/2 c water.  Stir, simmer, enjoy with tortillas, etc.

Round three (Wednesday): Turkey Parmesan. This was the final day of the turkey takeover, not because we actually used it all, but because we just couldn’t take it any more.  What a way to end, though.

Leftover Turkey Parmesan

Read More

Cheesy Pumpkin Stuffed Shells with Browned Butter Sage Sauce


Well, hey there Endless Simmerers!  Hope everyone had a fantabulous holiday last week and enjoyed copious amounts of leftovers.

I don’t know about you, but it is getting cold up in my neck of the woods.  Time for comforting, bubbly, cheesy foods.  AmIright?

Katt brought you some classic stuffed shells earlier this month, but now it’s time to get a little crazy. This meal was based purely on cleaning out the fridge.  I had some ricotta from my first attempt at ravioli making (not exactly a fail, but not exactly a win) and some pumpkin from Thanksgiving-y things.

So, this love child was born.

Enough chit chat.  Let me show you how this came together.

Cheesy Pumpkin Stuffed Shells

Read More

Artsy Photo of the Day: Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos

Top some chips with your leftovers from Thanksgiving, (stuffing, turkey, green beans, etc…), and some cheeses and a cranberry sauce drizzle.  Your belly will thank you.

Next »