Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes for all the Extras

Once the meal has been eaten the family gone home, what do you do with the leftovers filling the refrigerator? Embrace those Thanksgiving leftovers recipes.

With all those holidays – Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s (what am I forgetting?) – just around the corner, thoughts turn to the foods we serve to celebrate with family and friends.

For Thanksgiving, many a table in the United States bows under the weight of a roasted turkey. And later, the refrigerator bulges with leftovers. What to do? Embrace those Thanksgiving leftovers recipes, even plan for them, is my motto.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes

I adore a turkey sandwich in the days following the annual Thanksgiving calorie fest. Slices of soft bread slathered with mayo, bits and pieces of turkey arranged just so, peppercorns freshly ground on top, a few slices of cheddar cheese, a leaf of lettuce – another feast awaits my palate. But sandwiches only go so far. How about a few new ideas on what to do with that leftover turkey?

When I was growing up, Mom had a couple of recipes on hand that worked great for using leftovers. One of my favorites was Turkey Tetrazzini. She cooked those wide, curly egg noodles and placed them in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole, combined 2 cups chicken stock with 1 can of mushroom soup and ½ teaspoon celery salt, layered turkey pieces on top of the noodles, and topped it with the sauce. She then spread 1 cup cheddar cheese on top and sprinkled it with a handful of slivered almonds and 3 tablespoons minced parsley, and baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. It was heaven.