Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes

Almost as important as giving you guys lots of inspiration for the actual Thanksgiving Day recipes, is this post for what to do with all the leftovers! Sure we all enjoy the standard turkey sandwiches but I thought it would be fun to share some incredible recipes that take the term leftovers to a whole other level! The links to the recipes can be found in the links in each image’s credit!

{image credits 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5}

1. Here’s a great way to use up the cranberry sauce that probably no one touched on Thanksgiving! This woman combined her leftover turkey and cranberry sauce with some goat cheese and a tarragon aioli for a seriously delicious looking panini. She also has a ton of links on that post for Thanksgiving leftover recipes so make sure you check it out!

2. I had the Food Network on in the background while I was working the other day and heard Giada talking about this “Thanks Benedict” and was intrigued to see what she was up to. The dish is leftover stuffing that’s packed into little cakes and pan fried, topped with a slice of crispy pancetta, a poached egg and a homemade sage hollandaise sauce. Imagine waking up to this rich, decadent breakfast Friday morning!

3. This recipe isn’t on the Martha Stewart website yet {anyone else find this incredibly annoying?} but it was in the November issue. Before making your gravy on thanksgiving, reserve 3 tbsp of the turkey’s pan drippings. Whisk 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil and salt & pepper to taste and you have a fantastic vinaigrette. Make a salad with the leftover meats and roasted vegetables and you can have a lighter meal option of the days after!

4. With a loaf of really great bread, you can make a killer turkey club but if you add some fried stuffing into the mix you have something that might just be better than the Thanksgiving meal itself!

5. These turkey and mashed potato pot pies are a twist on shepard’s pie. One of you also suggested making my herb crust mini pot pies with leftover turkey instead of chicken and freezing them to enjoy for many more months to come!