Creative Leftover Meal Ideas
Okay. The leftovers have been properly transported, frozen and defrosted. Now it’s time to actually do something with them! If done the right way, it’s possible to use your Thanksgiving leftovers to create a meal just as delicious as the original one!
1. Savory pilgrim pie: A 3-in-1 rescue, a turkey version of shepherd’s pie for once-cooked turkey, potatoes and stuffing, enhanced by two time-saving canned goods.
Take equal amounts of cooked turkey and stuffing; coarsely chop in food processor with fresh parsley leaves. Mix in spoonfuls of canned celery or mushroom soup taken straight from the can until the turkey mix is nicely moist. Oil glass or casserole pan. Layer cooked mashed potatoes to cover bottom. Alternate with turkey mixture followed by a second layer of potatoes. Dot top layer with butter and sprinkle with canned fried onions. Bake about 20 minutes in a 300-degree oven until hot and top is browned. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
2. Turkey-lentil Soup Mexicana: A richly scented lentil soup made from the carcass of a turkey, infused with fragrant cumin.
In a soup pot, follow directions from any cookbook for making a rich stock from a turkey carcass. Strain stock; returning some meat to soup pot and adding cooked lentils, cumin and cilantro to taste.
3. Pecan (or pumpkin) pie parfait: Made from three or more pieces of uneaten pie, this dessert brilliantly exploits two disadvantages (a negligible quantity that’s lost its beauty) by presenting as elegant individual servings.
Pulse pie in food processor until coarsely chopped. Fill glass tumblers with alternating layers of chopped up pie and softened ice cream, and cover with plastic wrap. Line up on cookie sheet and freeze for about 15-20 minutes until firm but not frozen. Remove from freezer and run lukewarm water in bottom of pan for 30 seconds. Serve immediately with dollop of whipped cream.
4. Cranberry granita in clementine shells: Use leftover cranberry sauce as a basis for a gorgeous, cranberry-colored granita, which then goes into discarded clementine shells — another leftover from preparing the fruit for cranberry sauce or for a fruit tray.
Puree 2-4 cups cranberry sauce in food processor until smooth. Pour into saucepan. Add an equal amount of water and 1/2 cup sugar, cooking slowly, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon vodka for every 2 cups. Stir well and let cool to room temperature. Pour into large glass pan, place in freezer. When mixture begins to freeze, scrape up with a fork and return to freezer. Repeat every hour until crystals have desired coarseness, about two to three times. Present granita inside empty clementine shells or, if shells are lacking, spoon into glass coupes.
What To Do With Those Thanksgiving Leftovers was originally published on blackdoctor.org
