Thanksgiving Leftover Hacks

ThanksgivingHacksEveryone looks forward to Thanksgiving and all the trimmings….and then, by Saturday, EVERYBODY is sick of Thanksgiving and all the trimmings.  Gag me with a turkey sandwich, again, right??  The key to leftovers is making them feel like a completely different meal.  This year, I wanted to experiment ahead of time so there would be no question about the “Leftover Delish” factor!  When I was testing out these recipes, I wanted to create a different texture and flavor profile for each….

Give leftover stuffing a crunchy panko crust– inside these yummy croquettes is a tender piece of turkey!

turkey croquettes

Turkey and stuffing transformed into crispy croquettes.

Crisp up leftover mashed potatoes by frying them up with cheese and chives…

Potato Pancakes

Crispy, cheesy potato pancakes.

Turn butter into a whole new condiment by adding a few spoonfuls of leftover cranberry sauce…

cranberry butter

Spread cranberry butter on muffins or toast…

cranberry butter muffin

I love this shade of cranberry pink!

Here’s another one of my favorite leftover ideas….Turkey Cranberry Salad.

Thanksgiving Leftover Hacks
3 creative ideas for Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Croquettes, Cheesy Potato Pancakes and Cranberry Butter
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For the Turkey Croquettes
  1. Bite size pieces of turkey
  2. Stuffing (if it's dry, add some melted butter to it)
  3. canola oil
  4. flour for dredging
  5. 3 eggs whisked for egg wash
  6. Panko
  7. Leftover Gravy
For the Potato Pancakes
  1. 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
  2. 1 cup cheddar cheese
  3. handful of chives or scallions
  4. 1 Tb butter
  5. 1 Tb canola oil
For the Cranberry Butter
  1. 1 stick softened butter
  2. 2-3 Tb of leftover cranberry sauce
For the Turkey Croquettes
  1. Heat up about 2 inches of canola oil on medium high heat in a wide rimmed skillet or dutch oven.
  2. Ball up stuffing in golf-ball sized balls.
  3. Put a bite size piece of turkey in the middle of the stuffing ball.
  4. Dredge in flour, then egg wash, then panko.
  5. Put croquettes in the hot oil and brown on all sides.
  6. Drain on paper towels.
  7. Serve with hot gravy.
For the Potato Pancakes
  1. Fold in cheese and chives to the leftover mashed potatoes and mix to combine evenly.
  2. Heat up 1 Tb of canola oil and 1 Tb of butter in a skillet.
  3. Form potato and cheese mixture into pancakes.
  4. Put on the hot skillet and fry until browned on both sides.
For the Cranberry Butter
  1. Whip cranberry sauce into butter until smooth.
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2 thoughts on “Thanksgiving Leftover Hacks

  1. Chuoi

    Even since I moved to HK from NYC, I have not have a huge Thanksgiving party I used to have for a few years now. And I really miss that. Looking at your pics and reanidg your party story make me wanting to go out and get a 30lbs turkey and bake it myself this Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Parker Post author

      Awesome! I’m a fan of brining big turkeys– equal parts sugar and kosher salt with a big pot of water. Dissolve sugar and salt, add some herbs, onion and orange quarters and let the bird stay submerged for 12 hours. Rinse, dry off and then rub butter on and under the skin before roasting. Best ever!

      Reply

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