Holiday Leftover Ideas

Here are some ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers. We skipped the traditional turkey sandwiches this year, which my kids really don't like anyway, and ate really well for days!

Turkey Hash
The morning after Thanksgiving, I made this easy turkey hash for a hardy breakfast before we went skiing. The hash, made from diced potatoes, red onion, grated carrots, and leftover dark meat, made a tasty side dish to scrambled eggs.

Rustic Oven-Baked Apple Pancake
Leftover apples that didn't fit into the tart on Thanksgiving were the main ingredient in this simple rustic oven-baked apple pancake for breakfast another morning. Use your favorite recipe. I found this recipe in a cookbook I have in New Hampshire.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
For dinner one night, we had this delicious turkey shepherd's pie with some of the leftover turkey, green beans with leeks, and mashed potatoes. I added hamburg and corn to make my kids happy! There wasn't enough mashed potatoes leftover to complete the pie, so I just made another batch and blended them together. To keep the turkey from drying out, I added a little chicken broth to the bottom of the casserole dish.

 

Four-Grain Pancakes
For another breakfast, we had these four-grain pancakes (whole-wheat flour, rye flour, oat flour, and cornmeal) made with extra pumpkin puree.

Sausage, Broccoli, And Stuffing
The leftover stuffing made a nice addition to this simple sausage and broccoli dinner one night. The sausage also came from the farm where I bought our fresh turkey.

Turkey Soup
I immediately made a lovely stock on Thanksgiving eve from the bones and meat of the turkey. From that stock, I made this comforting turkey soup with bok choy, one of the fresh greens I purchased at the local farm when I picked up my turkey. I kept it simple by cooking the chopped vegetables right in the stock. The turkey was added last, once the vegetables were tender. The pasta was cooked separately and added to each individual bowl just before serving.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Turkey Hash
Leftover turkey hash was made with the leftover turkey. We ate it with leftover brussels sprouts from another meal. It made a very nice light lunch one day.

Cranberry Salsa

A great snack that my family really loves this time of year is this festive cranberry corn salsa. I make it every year and sometimes from the leftover cranberry sauce. When I started my blog last December, I posted the basic recipe here. I'll be posting my new fresh version of the recipe this weekend.

A Quiet Thanksgiving ~ Just The Four Of Us And Good Food

The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving kept the family busy such that we hardly saw each other so it was a blessing to get away, just the four of us. 

The Pemigewasset River

We headed to New Hampshire after hearing about all the snow the White Mountains were getting.

Even though I've made Thanksgiving dinner there for the past couple of years, I always forget what it's like since I make the meal only once a year. The pantry is pretty basic so it forces me to cook simply. We brought up all the food I had purchased back at home, including the fresh turkey that came from a local farm (story here). In the end, the simplicity worked in our favor and I made a very fresh and flavorful meal. 

The Meal

Stuffing

It started with drying cubes of multi-grain bread, one loaf, overnight which turned into the delicious and flavorful stuffing, or dressing, the next day. Below, the stuffing was made from fresh bread crumbs, fresh sage, chopped celery, onion, chestnuts (jarred), apples, and low-sodium chicken broth.

Cranberry Sauce

Making the fresh cranberry sauce was next with local cranberries I found at the grocery store (there are many beautiful bogs in nearby Cape Cod), oranges, and sugar. The aromas developing were amazing! It raised our holiday spirits.

I love serving cranberry sauce in a glass dish. It looks so pretty and sparkly.

Roasted Butternut Squash With Parsnips And Apples

This is a simple side dish of coarsely chopped squash and apples (of equal size), chopped parsnips (of smaller size), butter, and freshly grated nutmeg. I roast them in the oven until tender in this cast iron pan, but they roast nicely in a baking sheet also. I like to give them a rustic mash.

If we were home, this dish would have looked as pretty as the picture below. Below is the same side dish idea, without the parsnips, and with roasted butternut squash seeds that I made in late August for a kidney nutrition newsletter.

  

Roasted Green Beans And Leeks

Next, and my favorite new dish creation, was this side dish made by simply roasting green beans with leeks and extra virgin olive oil at 400 degrees for just a few minutes. In the past, I've made roasted green beans with almonds. But this was more savory. A great healthy alternative to the processed canned green bean casserole - which I've never made but have eaten a few times growing up and really never liked.

Mashed Potatoes And Gravy

Mashed potatoes and gravy were the last to be made. I never got a chance to photograph the gravy because that's when it got a little crazy and the entire meal was put together. The gravy was simple, slowly whisking a little flour with strained pan drippings and adding low-sodium chicken broth as needed. 

Meanwhile 
The fresh turkey had been roasting in the oven.

And the kids played.

White Friday

We skipped Black Friday and skied. I never really liked Black Friday anyway. I prefer to rest or decorate for the holidays.

Feeling exhilarated by the snow, the mountain, and gorgeous scenery, I kept calling the Friday after Thanksgiving our White Friday.

Cannon Mountain

View of Franconia Ridge

Tourtiere ~ My Memere Made This

An uncomplicated Christmas eve or New Year's eve/day dinner and quite comforting, this traditional French meat pie has become a favorite in our home.  It was my French-Canadian family's annual tradition, served at different times during the holidays depending on who I was visiting. Mostly, it was served on Christmas eve after midnight mass.

While the tourtiere is a traditional pie originating in Quebec (most think so) centuries ago, there are many variations.  Some don't use potatoes, some do.  Some use breadcrumbs instead of potatoes.  Some combine pork and ground beef, or some just use ground beef and so forth.  You too can make changes to suit you.

French Meat Pie Recipe (makes two pies):

3 lbs of ground pork
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 medium yukon gold potatoes, skins left on (2 potatoes for every pound of pork, if you want a meatier pie, use 1 potato per pound of meat but more meat will be needed to fill the pies)
1/2 ts of cinnamon
3/4 ts of poultry seasoning
1/4 ts of nutmeg (I use freshly grated)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbs butter, can vary depending on the size of the potatoes
Pastry for two two-crust pies (Your favorite recipe or store-bought. I used pie sheets from Immaculate Baking Co.)

Boil potatoes, whole or halved, with skins on until fork tender.  Meanwhile, saute chopped onion until translucent.  Add meat and saute until just browned.  Remove from stove, drain fat, and in a large bowl mix meat with cinnamon, poultry seasoning, and nutmeg.   When potatoes are tender, remove from water and place in a separate bowl (including the skins for more nutritional value)  and break up with a spoon adding butter, salt and pepper to taste (keeping them lumpy).   Add potatoes to meat and mix together (the potatoes should bind the mixture, but if not you can add an egg).  Lay a sheet of pastry in each pie dish.  Add equal amounts of filling to each.  Top each with another sheet of pastry.  Slit holes in top, crimp edges, and wrap with foil to protect from burning.  Heat in oven at 350 degrees until the crust is done, about 45 min.

Can be served with ketchup.  I can't explain it - it's just what my family did!

The pies can be frozen for a few months. Make extra and take one out when you're too busy too cook.

Enjoy it for breakfast as well.

~  ~  ~

2011 update: for the version using fresh herbs and spices and homemade crust, click here.

Festive Cranberry Corn Salsa

Here is holiday side dish that we love. I make a fresh version when I have time, but using the few canned items in this recipe is a valuable time-saver around the holidays.

We love serving this salsa with organic blue corn chips. They look so pretty together. 

And it makes a great gift.

NOTE: I always gift it with a bag of organic blue corn chips so it can be used immediately because the salsa has not been preserved. So gift soon after making it (keep refrigerated for up to a week, and can be frozen for a few months). I always attach a nice note card with the gift explaining this.

Cranberry Corn Salsa Recipe:
I found this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine a few years ago, but can't find a direct link to it. It is featured on this website, check it out for a printable version of the recipe.

1/4 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, or a little more to taste (can substitute with parsley)
1 16 oz can organic whole-berry cranberry sauce (or same amount of leftover fresh cranberry sauce)
1 15.25 oz can organic whole-kernel corn, drained (I use no salt; for less corn, use the 7 oz can)
1 4.5 oz can chopped mild green chili peppers

Combine all the ingredients then chill in refrigerator at least 30 minutes to build the flavors.

Also tastes great in sandwiches, with meals, and in cottage cheese! 

Happy Holidays!

For the fresh version of this Cranberry Corn Salsa, please see this post.