mashed potatoes

17 Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers

Max Wong — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 12:00:05 +0000

I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. So, of course, I always cook way too much food. Fortunately, if there's one thing I love more than Thanksgiving dinner, it's all the leftovers. Here's a list of some of my favorite Thanksgiving leftover hacks.

1. Like a Turkey and Stuffing Sandwich, But Not

Turkey tacos are super delicious and super easy to make. Just put everything into a tortilla and zap it hot in the microwave.

2. Cook Enchiladas With the Turkey

Jason Vincent, the executive chef of Chicago's Nightwood restaurant, makes turkey enchiladas while he prepares his Thanksgiving dinner, cooking the enchilada sauce right in the bottom of the turkey roasting pan! Genius.

3. Jook

Another cook-it-while-you-eat Thanksgiving leftovers dinner is jook, also known as congee. Jook is a super easy and frugal Chinese comfort food. To make turkey jook, put the turkey carcass into a large Crock-Pot or soup pot. Then add one cup of rice to 10 cups of water. Cook until the rice breaks down to a porridge-like consistency. I like to add a thumb-sized chunk of ginger and some garlic cloves while it's cooking for additional flavor. Season the finished jook with soy sauce, pepper, hot chili oil, or green onions. My husband likes to add leftover French fried onions (from the green bean casserole).

4. Cranberry Meatballs

The classic cocktail meatball recipe calls for grape jelly, but this one uses cranberry. A great way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce.

5. Green Gravy and Biscuits

Puree leftover green bean casserole in a food processor. Reheat (adding additional gravy or turkey broth as needed). Pour green gravy over warm biscuits and top with more French fried onions.

6. Pasta alla Genovese

Most Americans recognize this dish as pasta with pesto, but the original Ligurian pasta alla genovese recipe includes green beans and potatoes.

7. Creamy Turkey in Puff Pastry

Turn biscuits and gravy into a dainty dinner appetizer with puff pastry and the addition of a can of drained artichokes.

8. Salad Niçoise

Green beans? Check. Cooked potatoes? Check. If you've got these two leftovers you can whip up salad niçoise, one of Julia Childs' favorite recipes, with the addition of a few kitchen staples like canned tuna and hard-boiled eggs.

9. Turkey Waldorf Salad

One of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes is Waldorf salad. It's a dish that I make year-round because it pairs well with a variety of cuisines. So, it's pretty much a no-brainer to add leftover turkey to make, well, turkey Waldorf salad. Use it in sandwiches or toss with mixed greens to stretch the recipe into a lunch entrée.

10. Curry in a Hurry

Add leftover turkey, carrots, green beans, or potatoes to your favorite curry sauce recipe or make a curried turkey salad.

11. Vegetable Samosas

Samosas are the Punjabi version of hand pies. This Indian chef gives step-by-step instructions on how to make fried, twice fried, and baked versions of this classic snack. Samosas are my very favorite way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and peas.

12. Shepherd's Pie With Two-Potato Topping

This shepherd's pie recipe from New York's Red Cat restaurant calls for turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Make one giant pie for Sunday night (after Thanksgiving) dinner for the family, or prepare individual pies in ramekins.

13. Mashed Potato Pancakes

With just a five-minute prep time, these potato pancakes make a quickie meal from leftover mashed potatoes.

14. Sweet Potato Latkes

Full disclosure: very few recipes churn my stomach more than the sweet potato and marshmallow-topped casserole that grace so many Thanksgiving tables. Blargh. However, this recipe for sweet potato latkes with candied pecans is making me rethink my entire stance on sweetened sweet potatoes. Is it a side dish or a dessert? You decide.

15. Cheesy Mashed Potato Muffins

Feeling fancy? Then forget about frying potato pancakes and bake up some savory leftover mashed potato muffins instead.

16. Cranberry Crisp

Use up leftover apples and/or cranberry sauce by turning them into a super simple fruit cobbler.

17. Peanut Butter and Cranberry Sauce Sandwiches

Cranberry sauce is basically firm jam. Use it as a jam substitute in any of these recipes for preserves.

What's your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipe?

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This article is from Max Wong of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Perfectly Respectable Uses for Instant Mashed Potatoes

Linsey Knerl — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:30:16 +0000

I have been making my own mashed potatoes from scratch since I learned how to boil water. Like most people, I can tell the difference between authentic mashed potatoes, made from fresh spuds, and the dehydrated “flakes” that come in a box. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use them, however. After being gifted a large supply of the instant stuff, I went in search of acceptable ways to use them. The results were surprisingly delicious!

Soup Thickener or Gravy

Formally a fan of flour or corn starch, I have started trying a dab of instant potato in my thicker cream soups and white gravies. My favorite use is, not surprisingly, potato soup. You can also make a mean corn chowder or white chili with just the right thickness that only instant potatoes can provide. Experiment with different amounts to get just the right effect.

Gnocchi

This small Italian delicacy literally means “lump.” This is perfect, since it is usually made with potatoes. Several reputable gnocchi fans have reported substituting the potatoes with their dehydrated cousins. Use the recipe below, and serve with your favorite red sauce.

HOMEMADE GNOCCHI

1 cup instant mashed potatoes
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
8 teaspoons butter, clarified
1 cup romano cheese, grated
3 cups flour

Prepare instant potatoes as directed on package.
Combine potato with eggs and salt and whip until fluffy.
Add ricotta cheese, butter, Romano cheese and flour.
Knead until smooth.
Shape into 1/2" rolls and cut into 1" lengths.
Make impression with thumb in each piece, then lightly dust with flour.
Drop into boiling salted water and cook only until they rise to the surface.
Drain and serve!

(Note: Before cooking, gnocchi may be flash frozen on a cookie sheet, then placed in plastic bag in freezer.)

Potato Bread

Delicious and full of carbs, a good potato bread is priceless. Make it yourself and be the envy of all your friends. It’s not too difficult, and you can throw in some of those instant potatoes for good measure. Try this recipe if it’s your first time.

Meatloaves and Meatballs

I have always loved preparing little meatloaves, and traditionally they are made with bread crumbs, rice, or oatmeal. Have you ever tried instant potatoes, instead? It makes meatloaf with a very consistent texture that is great for fancier variations. Simply substitute the potatoes cup for cup, and prepare as usual. (For some kickin’ meatloaf ideas, see my other article.)

Frying Batter

While not really a “batter,” my favorite way to fry pork chops, fish, chicken or even vegetables involves the coveted instant mashed potato. Mix 1 cup instant potato with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper. After dipping your meat in an egg wash, butter, or oil, dip into the potato mixture. Fry lightly in your favorite oil, and you will have a light and crispy coating in no time!

Potatoes

What? There is a way to eat instant potatoes that tastes like the real thing? Apparently so. This handy trick came to me from an article by Maggie Hardy.

“Use twice-diluted sweetened condensed milk in place of the water that's called for in the recipe on the package. Then, use once-diluted evaporated milk for the milk ingredient. Reduce the milk ingredient by 1/4 and make up the difference by using chicken broth. (Example: if the package calls for 1 cup of milk, replace that with 3/4 cup of once-diluted SCM and 1/4 cup of chicken broth.) Add your butter, salt, pepper and any other seasonings and you won't be able to tell the instant potatoes from the real thing.”

Can’t wait to try it, Maggie!

It appears that instant potatoes are useful. They also have a long shelf-life, and can be an inexpensive alternative in areas where fresh potatoes are scarce (or worse, green). How do you use your speedy spuds?

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This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: