Post-Thanksgiving Mealplan

I hope everyone had as lovely a Thanksgiving as I did. And if you had as bountiful a meal as I did then you currently have a fridge-ful of leftovers. You all know by now that I despise eating the same thing after two days, so I’ve worked hard to come up with different things to do with everything that I have left. Today was a great day to go to the grocery store. Everyone was retail shopping so I had the store to myself to sing along to Christmas carols while I found multitudes of incredible deals. I also received my ‘thanks for shopping at Harris Teeter’ gift which was $50 in gift cards to the store of my choice (I chose Home Depot since we just bought a house). It was such a lovely way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. Here’s the plan for the next week or so…
*Turkey and Dumplings
I saved my turkey carcass and plan on boiling it to provide the stock and meat for this meal, (my mom does this every year to make soup). And leftover Thanksgiving gravy will serve as the base to thicken the stock. Several minutes before I’m ready to serve it, I’ll drop in long pieces of biscuit dough to poach and then we’ll have turkey and dumplings!
*Mandarin Turkey Salad
This is a common dinner salad in my house (has been since I was little) but it usually has chicken instead of turkey. It’s slivered almonds, crispy rice noodles, canned mandarin oranges and turkey breast meat, tossed with lettuce and a dressing made of lime juice, sugar and olive oil.
*Yellow Squash and Broccoli Strata
I have quite a few sourdough dinner rolls leftover that will be transformed into a strata along with a little leftover stuffing, steamed broccoli, leftover squash casserole and lots of eggs and cheese.
*Cranberry and Pineapple Pork Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
There is a good amount of Pineapple Side-dish leftover that I will finely chop and mix with some ground pork to make burger patties. Leftover cranberry sauce will be mixed with Dijon mustard to be the condiment slathered on toasted and buttered English muffins.
*Maple-Sage Pork Tenderloin with Brussels Sprout Gratin
I have a pork tenderloin in my freezer that I’ll roast and then glaze with maple syrup and fresh sage. The gratin will be made from leftover brussels and a thick sauce made of leftover gravy and lots and lots of cheese. (I think that does it for the leftovers….)
*Roasted Sausage and Grapes with Balsamic Vinegar and Brussels
I got some porcini mushroom and chicken sausages today for an excellent price. I’ll roast them with red grapes and balsamic vinegar until everything gets caramelized and sweet. The side dish will be roasted brussels sprouts and onions. (Brussels were majorly cheap today at the store, so I couldn’t resist buying them even though I already have leftovers!)
*Greek Pasta
Simple and yummy: canned tuna, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, onions and garlic, lemon zest and olive oil tossed with pasta.
*Sage-Fried Chicken with Double Potato Mash
I have some chicken drumsticks in my freezer that I’ll dredge in flour mixed with fresh sage and s&p. And the side dish will be mashed sweet and white potatoes with creme fraiche and scallions.
*Grilled Flat-Iron Steaks with Roasted Garlic and Asparagus Bundles
Good ole flat-irons! I have a few in my freezer that patiently await the grill… Asparagus bundles are just a handful of steamed asparagus wrapped in bacon (I have an opened pack in my fridge) and then roasted.
Happy Leftovers, Everyone!