Leftovers, Reimagined: Creative Ways to Use Thanksgiving Extras
Thanksgiving is, of course, a great holiday for food. People gather to appreciate one another and to enjoy an assortment of goodies. The meal is wonderful, and the leftovers are, as well. Also, Thanksgiving leftovers are amazing ingredients. With these delicious building blocks, you can create epic, unexpected treats for any meal. A brunch, for instance, can be a second holiday feast. For brunch, turkey can be used in new ways. Stuffing, too, adds festive flair to your brunch recipes. Whatever meal you want to add some holiday fun to, leftover ingredients can help.
Morning Meal Ideas Featuring Thanksgiving Leftovers
These tasty leftovers are versatile. They can be great additions to meals at any time of day. Breakfast and brunch, for instance, can gain coziness and zest from these ingredients. The ingredients can be incorporated into waffle-centered recipes. They can also be included in recipes using eggs.
Waffles are classics for breakfast. Food Network suggests using Thanksgiving stuffing as an ingredient in waffle batter. Waffles with this batter can be pressed in a waffle iron like any other waffles. Other Thanksgiving side dishes like cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potatoes can complete your meal. They can be placed on top of your waffles. This way, they play similar roles to maple syrup and butter. This recipe can also be included in a larger brunch scenario. For a complex brunch experience, add turkey and even more side dishes.
Egg dishes are also classics for breakfast and brunch. One quintessential egg dish is quiche. Food Network states: “A quiche is the perfect way to use leftover turkey and stuffing.” A cheese such as cheddar can also be delicious in your quiche. Food Network also offers a Thanksgiving variation of Eggs Benedict. The eggs in this version sit on cakes made of breadcrumbs and stuffing.
Ways to Feature Leftover Items Later in the Day
Brunch can drift from morning into early afternoon. Beyond this point, there are also opportunities for leftover deliciousness. Throughout the day, you can infuse recipes with the essence of Thanksgiving happiness. According to Zero-Waste Chef, “Thanksgiving leftovers are simply prepped ingredients.” Incorporating them into afternoon and evening meals and snacks can be a breeze.
A side dish that Zero-Waste Chef uses in a new recipe is macaroni and cheese. A main feature of dinner, this dish can now be an ingredient in a pie. Along with macaroni and cheese, the other ingredient is a pie crust. Zero-Waste Chef advises: “Because you’d use leftover macaroni and cheese, parbake the crust.” In other words, bake the crust for a little bit in advance. The macaroni and cheese is, after all, already cooked. After the pie crust is parbaked, fill it with your macaroni and cheese. Then, bake the entire pie.
Turkey, another Thanksgiving dinner highlight, can also be a wonderful ingredient as a leftover. Food Network incorporates leftover turkey into an exciting grilled cheese sandwich recipe. Along with the turkey, use rye bread, arugula, and brie cheese to make your sandwich. This sandwich can be a cozy highlight of your afternoon.
Overview of Recipe Possibilities
There are so many possibilities for leftover recipes. This holiday of warmth and togetherness is a forum for culinary expression. People have dishes they enjoy making and dishes they look forward to eating. These dishes can be combined in new ways through leftover innovation. Stuffing can form waffles. Cranberry sauce can work as a syrup for the waffles. Macaroni and cheese can become pie. At any time of day, there are options. The warm feeling of the holiday can continue with each tasty concoction. Cook up something cozy, and remember some festive moments.
