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5 Meals to Make Out of Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

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Don’t let those Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste! There are countless ways to reuse the dishes you made on Thanksgiving, but you’ve got to put your creative cooking hat on. In this blog post, we’ll provide five recipes that make use of mashed potatoes, ham, turkey, stuffing, and even that extra canned pumpkin.

Thanksgiving only comes around one day each year, but it usually leaves us with enough food to last a week. Here are five ways to put all that food to good use!

1. Blue Cheese and Cranberry Bites


Cranberry sauce is one of those dishes everyone has on Thanksgiving then forgets about for the rest of the year. That is unless you turn the cranberry sauce into this delicious appetizer. Bingo!





      • 1 egg 

      • ¼ cup walnuts (chopped)

      • ½ cup blue cheese 

      • ⅓ cup cranberry sauce

      • 1 pie crust 

      • 8 oz chive and onion cream cheese spread

      • Salt and pepper






First things first, heat your oven to 425 degrees. Then, grab a greased muffin pan. 


Now for the fun part — roll out your pie crust and cut it into 16 circles - about 2 ¼ inches in diameter. 

Now, take your pie crust circles and press them into the muffin pan. Then start prepping the rest of your ingredients. 

In a large bowl, stir the egg in with the cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Place a dollop of the mixture into each muffin cup, and sprinkle your blue cheese on top. 

Stick the pan in the oven for about 12 minutes once done preheating, and top with cranberry sauce. Add your walnuts on top for a little extra crunch!

2. Honey-Glazed Veggies


Leftover vegetables will spoil quickly if you don’t make use of them. Luckily, this honey-glazed veggie recipe is here to rescue your unused veggies.

For this recipe, you’ll need:





      • 2 lbs of your leftover veggies (carrots and green beans work best)

      • 4 tbsp. butter (unsalted)

      • 1 tbsp. sliced chives

      • 1 1/2 tsp. salt

      • 3 tablespoons honey

      • 1 tbsp. brown sugar

      • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

      • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

      • 1/4 tsp. black pepper






Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.

Next, melt the butter in a microwave and pour it into a mixing bowl along with the honey, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir until well-mixed. 

Take two tablespoons of this mixture and set it aside in a small bowl. 

Take the vegetables and spread them out onto a lightly greased baking sheet, then pour the remaining mixture over the veggies until they’re completely covered. It may require two baking sheets if you have a large amount of leftovers.

Stick the glazed vegetables in the oven and bake for 30-minutes. Once you pull them out of the oven, pour the remaining two tablespoons of butter mixture over the top and sprinkle on some chives for a little extra flavor. 

Click here for the full recipe.

3. Leftover Pot Roast


Whether you’ve got leftover turkey or a half shank of ham, it all tastes great in a simple pot roast. Make it in the slow cooker to fill your home with a hearty aroma, and enjoy another full day of good food. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 





      • 1 cup black coffee

      • 2 tbsp olive oil

      • 8 oz tomato sauce

      • 1/4 lb of your meat of choice

      • 2 tbsp oregano

      • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

      • 2 tbsp meat seasoning

      • 1 cube beef bouillon






Start by rubbing the meat with seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and oregano. 

Next, put the meat in the slow cooker. Grab a cube of bouillon and stir it into the black coffee until it's dissolved before pouring it and your tomato sauce over the meat.

Now the dish is ready to cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. When you pull the dish out, season it with salt and pepper (to taste) and dig in!

Click here for the full recipe

4. Turkey and Mashed Potato Casserole


Cooking, conversing and cleaning on Thanksgiving can zap your energy. This hearty casserole is a great way to refuel the next day, and to use up all your extra stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Here are the ingredients:





      • 6 oz stuffing 

      • ¾ cup mayonnaise 

      • ⅛ tsp paprika

      • 4 cups roasted turkey

      • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

      • 3 cups mashed potatoes

      • 2 cups mixed veggies (carrots, corn, green beans, peas)






Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then place your leftover stuffing into a greased baking dish. Next, combine the thawed vegetables with the meat and mayonnaise before spreading on top of the stuffing.

Finally, stir the cheese into the mashed potatoes and add this mix to the next layer. This dish should take about 40 minutes to bake, but it will keep you full for much longer!

Click here for the full recipe.

5. Crumbly Pumpkin Bars


We’ve all been there — you bought too many cans of pumpkin pie mix and run the risk of letting them sit in your cupboard all year. Here’s a tasty dessert you can make to put those cans to good use!

Ingredients:





      • 1/2 cup butter (unsalted)

      • 1 1/2 cups flour

      • 1/4 tsp salt

      • 1 egg

      • 10 oz canned pumpkin (also works with pumpkin butter

      • 1/2 tsp baking powder

      • 1/2 cup granulated sugar






Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Then grease up a medium-sized baking dish. 

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, baking powder, salt, and flour. Then cut up the butter into tiny crumbs, mixing these into your bowl along with the egg to form the dough. 

Next, you’ll take half of the dough and line the bottom of the baking dish with it. Spread evenly. 

Grab your canned pumpkin and spread it across the bottom layer of dough. You can use a spoon to spread it to the far edges. 

Finally, add the remaining dough, creating the top layer of the pumpkin bars. 

Now, you’re ready to put your pumpkin bars in the oven! Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Be sure to let the bars cool completely before you cut them into squares.  

If you enjoy these, the Farmview Market pre-made pumpkin bread mix might come in handy next time for a quick dessert with fewer steps. 

Click here for the full recipe.

 

That's all folks! Be sure to ‘like’ and follow Farmview Market on Facebook and Instagram, and if you post any pictures of these recipes, please tag us! We love sharing the meals that our readers end up making. Happy cooking!