There are so many options for Thanksgiving leftovers above and beyond sandwiches and repeats of Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some of my favorite recipes made with Thanksgiving leftovers. Some of the dishes can be frozen and enjoyed later if you are tired of turkey.
Turkey Soup – My favorite way to use up the leftovers is to make soup. My Dad makes a wonderful soup with the Turkey. He makes a huge batch and freezes half of it for later. This soup is hearty, full of flavor thanks to the leftover gravy he adds, and warms you right up. It has corn, tortellini, barley, beans, spinach, and a generous chunks of turkey.
Cranberry Mayonnaise – mix cranberry sauce with mayonnaise and add to sandwiches.
Turkey Salad – use the Cranberry Mayo to make a Thanksgiving version of chicken salad.
Potato Pancakes – Crispy and delicious this is a perfect snack or breakfast side. Form potatoes into a palm sized potatoes. The 2 tricks to potato pancakes is to keep them small because otherwise they will break, and to give them lots of heat. It is hard to burn them and they take a long time to crisp up. Melt butter in a skillet add the potatoes and give them about 3 minutes a side.
Turkey Stock – This is the base for the Turkey Soup. If you aren’t making soup right away, you can always make stock and freeze it for later. Homemade stock is absolutely worth the effort it has much more flavor than store bought stock. You can freeze stock in a big chunk, and/or in ice cube trays. Use small cubes of stock for sauces. If you have leftover gravy, add it to the stock. It adds lots of flavor.
Turkey Pot Pie – I made a turkey pot pie last year with the Friendsgiving leftovers my friend Andrea gave me. I put it right in the freezer and had it a month later.
Stuffed Bread – I haven’t made this in years, but it is brother’s favorite. My Dad would make the dough for me in the bread maker. Then I would divide it into 5 chunks. Everyone in my family got to decide what they wanted in their stuffed bread. I would add turkey, gravy, pearl onion casserole, and green bean casserole to mine. Just stretch out the dough, put the filling in the middle, and close it up. Bake in the oven. Other filling ingredient options are: cheese, broccoli, any leftover vegetable casserole, leftover artichoke dip, potatoes, corn, and stuffing.
More: a post on what to do with leftover gravy. It also includes my gravy recipe.