by Andrea Meyers of Andrea’s Recipes

Photo by FoodBlogga

One of the best things about Thanksgiving feasts is the leftovers. We always seem to have enough food for several meals after the big day, and while we have our favorite ways to enjoy them, I’m always looking for new flavorful options to use those leftovers.

Photo by Andrea’s Recipes

Sandwiches are the first thing that comes to mind for leftover turkey because they are so easy and you can create a variety of sandwiches just by changing cheeses and the other toppings. Plus they are simple foods to pack for lunch when going back to work the next day. Susan of Food Blogga makes a beautiful turkey sandwich with prosciutto and Gorgonzola, Nicole of Baking Bites makes turkey panini with cranberry and brie, and Elise of Simply Recipes adds arugula, cranberries, mayo, and dijon mustard to her favorite turkey sandwich.

Photo by Kalyn’s Kitchen

Turkey soup is a great comfort food for cold days, and the turkey carcass has loads of flavor locked in just waiting for a pot of hot water to bring it out. For a simple start, just put the bones into a large pot, cover with water, and let it cook until the pieces are falling a part. Strain and you are ready to go. Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen shows how to make a leftover turkey and sweet potato soup with black beans and lime, a great combination with lots of variety. Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food makes a turkey pasta soup that she likes to spoon over leftover dressing. At Redacted Recipes, Ann shows how to make a leftover turkey soup in the slow cooker, and Danno of NOLA Cuisine shows off his turkey bone gumbo.

Photo by Kitchen Parade

Leftover turkey and vegetables also work great in casseroles and rice dishes, another easy and comforting meal for the holidays. Alanna of Kitchen Parade shows how easy it is to make a tasty turkey wild rice casserole flavored with sherry, one of her favorite Thanksgiving leftover dishes. Jerry of Cooking By the Seat of My Pants uses leftover turkey and dressing and adds some vegetables and sage to make an easy casserole. At Kalofagas, Peter makes one of my very favorite comfort foods, a turkey pot pie with cream biscuits, and Kevin of Closet Cooking tosses together a beautiful turkey and squash risotto that he flavors with spices and white wine.

Photo by Pinch My Salt

If it’s lighter fare you are looking for, salads are a healthy and satisfying way to prepare leftover turkey. Nicole of Pinch My Salt makes a seasonal curried salad with turkey, apple, cranberries, and walnuts, and Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes serves up a basic turkey salad for sandwiches or on top of a bowl of lettuce as well as a pretty turkey avocado salad with garbanzo beans and corn that she spices up with a bit of cayenne pepper.

You can find more ideas for your Thanksgiving leftovers using the FoodieView Recipe Search Engine.

Andrea Meyers is the author of the cooking blog Andrea’s Recipes, and she’s looking forward to making her turkey noodle soup with leftover gravy the weekend after Thanksgiving.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 8:44 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.