Friday, December 13, 2013

Thanksgiving Leftovers

I know this is a little past due for talking about Thanksgiving leftovers but I have been thinking about how we were able to use everything from our Thanksgiving meal except a little stuffing.  I am so proud of myself for making use of all of the food we had without any waste.

What we started with:
Roast Turkey
Glazed Spiral Cut Ham
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing
Mac and Cheese
Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potatoes

With the turkey and ham we mainly made sandwiches for lunch out of them.  I know that can get old so I tried to put a twist on them to make them more appetizing.
For Turkey I made Thanksgiving Paninis.  I put a little turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce on some hearty bread and grilled it on our panini maker. This is a messy sandwich but very delicious. I also made hot turkey sandwiches with melted provolone cheese.
Griddle Sandwiches : My new favorite way of making hot sandwiches is to butter one side of two pieces of bread and brown the buttered side on the griddle while heating up the turkey on the same griddle. Throw a slice of cheese over the turkey to make it hot and melty. Assemble the sandwich on your plate as soon as the turkey is hot and the bread is golden brown.  This leaves the bread nice and toasty on one side while warm and soft on the the other side. I will do the same thing with ham.  Toast two pieces of bread on a griddle next to your ham, I don't even add cheese to my ham because it is just so wonderful by itself (and we are still on a budget here). These sandwiches warmed up with mac and cheese or a little mashed potatoes and gravy are perfect for lunch or a quick dinner.

I also made Turkey Tetrazzini with my leftover turkey.  Instead of making one big pan of it I divided it into two 8x8 pans. I cooked one for dinner and I put the other in the freezer for another night. This is perfect with a little cornbread stuffing side.

With the cranberry sauce I made Cranberry, Orange, Carrot Muffins. These were so simple and healthy for a breakfast treat!  It used up the leftover cranberry sauce as well as some of the carrots I had in the fridge.



Finally with the sweet potatoes I made Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies.  These cookies are so yummy! It made a very wet mixture so I used a mini ice cream scoop and scooped all the dough onto parchment and then froze it.  After they were frozen I dumped the little cookie balls into a gallon plastic freezer bag and whenever we are in need of a little chocolate treat I pull a couple out of the freezer and bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes. No need to thaw, just put them on the cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven. Super easy treat!

(picture is of one of my Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies and the other is a Chocolate Chip Cookie which I will get a recipe up for soon)

Sweet Potato Casserole Chocolate Chip Cookies
Holiday Leftovers Recipe ~ Emmie Loveless

Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 15 min

INGREDIENTS
½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweet potato casserole leftovers or sweet potato pie or mashed sweet potatoes
3 cups flour mixture (half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a stand mixer beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and sweet potato. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the mixture by tablespoons onto parchment paper. The cookies can be baked right away at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or freeze the cookie balls and bake when needed. 


Serves: 40 Cookies

Remember, we are doing our best to stay on a healthy budget.  These tips are just a few I have for using leftovers so I will keep posting my ideas.

Enjoy food, family and everything else that makes you happy

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