Post Turkey Day Leftover Makeover Trio

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day.

But now, the aftermath–the leftovers. So much food! And no one wants to have the same thing over and over again. Turkey sandwiches are amazing, but what to do with the rest?

No worries. You’ve got options.

First up, I have new 8 & $20 up this week at WineSpectator.com for Turkey Enchiladas using whatever you’ve got left on your table. 

If that doesn’t use up all your leftovers or if you just want more variety, I’ve got two more  non-recipes for you. You can even use the same filling from the enchiladas in one or both of these.  

Bits and Pieces Frittata

 

A frittata is one of the easiest thing you can make to use up bits and pieces–bonus, you can eat it at pretty much any time of day.
    •    Heat oven to 350°F.

    •    Lightly heat up a mix of veggies and turkey (or other proteins if you prefer) in a greased, oven-safe  pan. Scramble a bunch of eggs and pour over the veggies and proteins to cover evenly. I find 8 eggs works for about  2-3 cups of filling, albeit on the less eggy side, so feel to add more. Cheese is always good here too. 

    •    Cook the mixture over medium-high heat until the sides of the frittata have begun to set.

    •    Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until it’s fully cooked through and lightly golden on top–about 15 to 20 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve. 


I like to top this all with a little sauce like pesto or salsa verde, as pictured above, but use whatever you've got.

Cheater’s Pot Pie

Next up, a Cheater’s Pot Pie. You’ll need some non-sweet pie dough or puff pastry for this. If you have some leftover from Thanksgiving pie baking, great. If not, just buy a store bought version and follow directions for thawing if needed. 

    •    Heat oven to whatever temperature is indicated by the pie dough/puff pastry package. 

    •    You’ll need either some gravy (perhaps diluted with a little extra stock), béchamel, or a velouté–which is just a béchamel with stock swapped in for milk. If making either of the later two, make a roux. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium, then whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in a cup and half or two of milk or stock, adding more as need–I like this to be a little closer to soup than sauce for this purpose.                                          
(Of course, you can also always go old school and mix in a can of cream of mushroom soup instead.)

    •    Stir in 2-3 cups of mixed veggies and proteins and heat through. Pour the entire mixture in a casserole dish (eyeball the size). Cut your pastry to fit over the casserole dish, then plop the sheet of pastry dough on top and press the ends over the edges. Cut a couple of slits in the dough to serve as vent.

    •    Pop it all in the oven and bake until the pastry is fully baked and golden–follow package guidelines on timing. 


I got about 4 servings out of this quantity. 

 

And if this still isn’t enough to use up your leftovers, check out this past 8 & 20 for Stuffed Acorn Squash.