Thanksgiving Leftovers Day 3

Tonight's leftovers are different than typical Turkey Day food. I had a lot of mashed potatoes so I wanted to mix it up and do something other than reheat them. This made me look at what was in my freezer and forced me to be creative with what we had. We usually do grocery shopping on Wednesdays but since that was the day before the holiday, we did not want to face the crowds. This made me have to be even more creative since we had less to choose from.

I decided on mashed potato pancakes with stroganoff and steamed broccoli.

To make the potato pancakes I whisked an egg and added a little flour, then mixed in the leftover mashed potatoes. Form them into patties and fry the in about 2 tbs of oil.

My easy stroganoff was just browned ground beef, 1 can of beef broth, 1 packet of onion soup mix and 3/4 cup sour cream.

I was able to use leftovers again, but my family didn't have to feel like they were still eating the same meal :)

Use Those Leftovers! Day 2

I love Thanksgiving. The food, the family, the food, the parade, the food, the shopping, the food... ;)

I already posted about Turkey Soup, but if I kept cooking like that I think my family would protest. It also gets really boring eating a turkey dinner each night.

Tonight I made Turkey Chili. This is a good meal because it is cheap even when not using leftovers, but even better when you are! I put in a bit of the turkey meat, beans, peppers, corn, and 2 jars of the tomatoes I canned this summer. I also added in some of the leftover sweet potatoes. It makes the chili more rich, thick, and sweet. It also can be a way to "sneak" in some veggies because they start to fall apart and just make the chili thicker. Even though it uses a lot of the Thanksgiving leftovers, it doesn't feel like you're eating the same meal over and over again.


We also have had turkey sandwiches. That is a perfect "day after Thanksgiving" lunch because it is simple to throw together. If you're more ambitious you can make a "Turkey Salad" instead.

This is only Day 2 of my goal to use up all the leftovers! I'll keep posting the different ways we made a turkey dinner stretch :)

Happy Leftovers day!

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now we're on to my favorite part- the leftovers. Not often can a meal turn into a week of yummy meals for your family, but Thanksgiving gives us more to be thankful for. If you get tired of having a Thanksgiving meal each night then mix it up. Use turkey for stir-fry or fajitas, turn mashed potatoes into potato pancakes, add sweet potatoes to chili.  Really the possibilities are endless. That's why my family did a full Thanksgiving meal even though we were also eating at my in-laws.

One of my favorite things to do is make soup. This meal is practically the most frugal of the all. Cut as much meat off your turkey as you can- but don't throw out that carcass! By making it into soup you can score one more meal, for pennies.

Add the carcass to a big pot of water and boil it for a few hours. Just start it as you get up for Black Friday sales and smell it simmer. If you have a big enough crock pot just set it up and head out the door.  If you have carrot or celery ends add them to the pot for even more flavor.

Then after a few hours turn it into soup. Strain out the bones and you'll be surprised at just how much meat was hiding. Chop up onions, carrots, celery- or even throw in the leftover veggies from yesterday. Add the veggies and meat back to the broth and continue to simmer. You can add some cooked rice or pasta before serving.

Soup is already a frugal meal, but using everything from your Thanksgiving turkey can help keep to your budget this holiday season.