With some families, Christmas means cooking for an army! My neighbours are like that, even though their Christmas dinners usually have about 10 people show up. They make all sorts of dishes, and their guests bring food with them as well, and sometimes I wonder how their serving table doesn’t collapse from the weight of everything. They’re very kind people, mind you, and a lot of their food ends up at my house. This year, I have to use up Christmas leftovers from both my house and theirs, so I thought I’d share a few ideas I’ll be using.
Turkey
I like to pull Turkey off the bone while it’s still warm, but that’s not always possible. The sooner you can pull the turkey from the bones the better. One of the easiest ways to use up leftover turkey is by throwing it in some fried rice, because that way all the flavours mix together and the rice tastes a little bit heartier. Really, you can do this with any leftover meat, but I like it with turkey around the holidays to keep the festive spirit going even after Christmas.
Stuffing croquettes with turkey, cheese and herbs is also a great way to use up Christmas leftovers. Turkey, garlic, rosemary, and mozzarella cheese is one of my favourite combinations, but it’s so easy to be adventurous with croquettes
Ham
I don’t like ham very much, but when we do have leftover ham, my absolute favourite way to use it is on pizzas. My boyfriend and I are big fans of Hawaiian pizza, so slicing up leftover ham and using it on pizzas really takes our pizza game to another level.
Roasted Vegetables
I love, love, love getting leftover squash, carrots, and turnips! If I don’t just eat them as they are, I usually turn them into soups or add them to pasta. If they’re still quite firm and could stand up to it, make a stew and add them in in the final stages of cooking.
