Thanksgiving Leftovers

Hello!

Thank God Thanksgiving is finally over.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Some of us are gearing up for Christmas, the biggest holidays of the year where everyone is busy making Christmas gift lists, decorating their homes with Christmas ornaments, buying Christmas trees and planning where to spend their holidays this year.

I’m glad I put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. I didn’t have to worry about it.  My little ones adamantly requested to have it up November 1, so they could enjoy it for two full months.

November and December are the busiest months for me.  I have to attend back-to-back birthday parties (including mine), making cakes and cupcakes, family responsibilities, school activities prior to Thanksgiving break, Thanksgiving dinner, getting the house ready for the holidays, putting up the Christmas trees, etc…

Here’s one of the reasons why I was busy.  I made my  own birthday cake.

I was glad that our Thanksgiving was quiet and very intimate this year. We didn’t have to travel nor have guests.  I prepared a very simple Thanksgiving meal.  We just had turkey with gravy, stuffing, purple mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, egg rolls,  and my very own pumpkin pie.

We still have leftoveres even though the turkey was small. My family did not want soup or sandwiches for leftover turkey, so I just fried the turkey and came up with a sauce for them to dip the turkey with using the leftover cranberry sauce. I call it Cranberry Sauce “Ketchup”, It’s really easy and it doesn’t involve any cooking; even a 5 year old can do it. The turkey was crispy on the outside and moist and tender inside. My family gobbled them all.  Leftovers?  No longer. 😀

Here’s what I came up with our leftovers…

Fried Turkey

I placed the leftover turkey in the fridge overnight then fried it as is the day after. Served with Cranberry Sauce Ketchup.

Yields: 2 servings

• 1/4 cupful of  leftover cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup organic tomato ketchup

Mix in a bowl until well-combined.  Use as dipping to fried turkey.

What to do with leftover cranberry sauce?  Here are four ways to get rid of the leftover cranberry sauce that you will surely love.

One:  Use it to flavor your water

Add chocolate mint leaves (optional) and two whopping table serving spoon of leftover cranberry sauce in a large, tall glass.  Using a spoon or a masher, mash the cranberry sauce and mint together. Fill the glass with 8 oz water. Stir until well-combined. Squeeze out the juice and some pulp from the cranberry sauce and strain the liquid as you transfer it to a clean, tall glass filled with ice cubes. I made two glasses and added more cranberry sauce in the second mixture.  The one above is the second mixture and the one below is the first mixture.  The more cranberry sauce you add, the thicker and more flavorful the mixture is.

Tada!  You have a colorful, refreshing flavored water for breakfast or anytime.  Look at how gorgeous it is!

Two:  Cranberry Champagne

Mash two whopping table serving spoon of leftover cranberry sauce in a glass. Add a little champagne just to dilute the cranberry sauce. Squeeze out the juice and some pulp from the cranberry and strain the liquid as you transfer it in a champagne glass.  Fill the glass with champagne and garnish with fresh cranberries and chocolate mint leaves (optional).

Three:  Sparkling Cranberry-Apple Cider Cocktail

Mash two whopping table serving spoon of leftover cranberry sauce in a large, tall glass. Fill the glass halfway with Martinelle’s sparkling apple cider. Stir until well-combined.  Squeeze out the juice and some pulp from the cranberry and strain the liquid as you transfer it in a tall glass filled with ice cubes or to a champagne glass.  Fill the glass with sparkling apple cider. Garnish with fresh cranberries and chocolate mint leaves.

Four: Cranberry-Orange Juice

Mash two whopping table serving spoon of leftover cranberry sauce in a large, tall glass. Fill the glass halfway with orange juice. Stir until well-combined.  Squeeze out the juice and some pulp from the cranberry and strain the liquid as you transfer it in a tall glass filled with ice cubes.  Fill the glass with orange juice. Garnish with fresh cranberries and chocolate mint leaves.

For leftover Pumpkin pie?   Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

I have been making these for the past few years the day after Thanksgiving for breakfast.  My family love these fluffy and moist pancakes served with maple syrup.  Just add some leftover pumpkin pie and two dashes of pumpkin pie spice in your favorite pancake batter recipe and mash the pie then whisk until well-incorporated and smooth. Cook as you normally cook pancakes. Drizzle with your favorite pancake syrup.

Tips: Don’t add too much pumpkin pie in the batter or it will be too dense.  Spread the batter thinly and cook the pancakes in a non-stick skillet for better results. 

This is the typical breakfast meal in our household the day after Thanksgiving.  And we never get tired of it. Delicious!  So, don’t throw away any leftovers. Find a way to jazz them up. 😀

How about you? What do you do with Thanksgiving leftovers?

~Anna

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