After you have eaten several Thanksgiving dinners, sandwiches, and ham or turkey salad what else can you do with the Thanksgiving meal leftovers? Here are some suggestions!
Never waste the turkey carcass or the ham bone. After you remove all the meat from the bones, Ham or Turkey Bone Soup should be next on the menu. Your crock pot makes it easy. Load the ham bone or turkey carcass and any bones, skin, and bits and pieces into the crock pot with water or broth to cover the bones (but not over the fill line). Turn the pot on low and let it be for 12 to 24 hours until the flavor is extracted from the bones and some of the cartilage has actually melted.
Turn off the crock pot and let cool enough to be able to skim the fat and strain the broth through a metal sieve. Freeze and save the broth for soup stock to use later or add onion, diced ham or turkey, and your choice of vegetables, herbs, rice or noodles for a hearty ham or turkey soup.
Pot Pie is a great use for the leftover ham, vegetables, turkey and gravy leftover from the big day. Just thicken the gravy, add some onion, potato, your favorite vegetables, herbs and diced hm or turkey into a premade pie crust and lay another crust on top. If you have an excess of mashed regular or sweet potatoes, you might use them to top your pie.
Tip: Keep frozen pre-made pie crusts on hand to turn almost any meal leftovers into a pot pie.
These same premade pie crusts, 6 eggs, a few dollops of plain yogurt, and 8 oz. of shredded cheese can combine with your favorite greens, herbs, vegetables and leftover protein to make a great quiche.
Every family has their favorite uses for holiday leftovers. These are only a few ideas for you to try with your own favorite flavors and personal spin.