Now I know Thanksgiving isn’t the best holiday. Between Halloween and Christmas, it’s nearly forgotten. But, come on, it’s literally a day to celebrate eating food! Sure you have to deal with family, and spend hours cooking, but let the final feast make it all worth it. Golden turkey, sugary pumpkin pie, buttery mashed potatoes, rich cranberry juice, and more! Who couldn’t love a meal so packed with love as a Thanksgiving feast? But then comes the next day. Dishes piled high to the ceiling, no room in the refrigerator, and you have nothing to eat but microwaved, sad, mushy leftovers. This is the last year you shall suffer from terrible Thanksgiving leftovers, because I’ve supplied 10 recipes for how to make your Thanksgiving last all week.
Okay, you were expecting this one. Yeah, so basically throw a whole bunch of leftovers, like turkey, stuffing, gravy, and vegetables, and mix it in a pan. Top with mashed potatoes and endless amounts of shredded cheese, and you’ve got yourself a new meal.
Now you were not expecting this. It’s okay, I wasn’t either. Yeah it sounds strange, but also delicious. This recipe helps you turn your cranberry sauce into a barbecue sauce, savory and sweet and everything in between. Top the pizza with turkey, cheese, and veggies.
Waffles made out of mashed potatoes, cheese, and spice? Yes, please. This is for anyone who made way too much mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Just make your own batter with leftover mashed potatoes, flour, cheese, chives, butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Throw it in a waffle iron and done!
Ah, the perfect food for college students: ramen soup. Only this time, it’s homemade. This a great recipe to use the actual turkey carcass after it’s used. Make a broth with the turkey and vegetables, and add in whatever you like, along with noodles of course.
This recipe completely reimagines everything you thought you knew about turkey. Now, we’re making creamy Southern sauce. Whether they’re from scratch, or store-bought (cause who has time), add some biscuits to your creamy sauce and turkey.
Another recipe really helpful for anyone who doesn’t know what to do with so much turkey. Dice it up, add it to pasta and vegetables, and make a sauce to top it all off. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but remember you can easily substitute or eliminate certain things.
Now how would I have included potato waffles, without potato pancakes? I’ve never been such a fan of potatoes before. But this recipe actually looks delicious. Just mix your potato leftovers with eggs, flour, cheese, and seasoning. Put a little dollop in the pan, flatten it out, and let it cook until it’s golden brown. They’re small, easy, and covered in cheese, what’s not to love?
I didn’t want this list to contain a whole bunch of soup recipes, but here we are. But come on, this one’s super easy. It’s legit a bunch of your favorite vegetables in turkey broth with some egg noodles. It’s the same thing as chicken noodle soup, but with turkey, perfect for the chilly weather.
This recipe makes me excited. It’s a bit out there, but hear me out. Stuffing, turkey, gravy, eggs: all in a muffin pan, baked in the oven. Top it with cranberry sauce if you want, and you got yourself small muffins filled with Thanksgiving goodies. It’s kinda a hodgepodge of things, but hey, when have muffins ever failed us before?
I was not going to complete this list without two things. 1. A dessert recipe. 2. Something from Martha Stewart. So here are both. Not that anyone has ever not wanted pumpkin pie leftovers, but maybe one night you’re just really in the mood for ice cream instead? So here’s how to combine the two. An ice cream sandwich made of graham crackers, pumpkin pie filling and vanilla ice cream. Sounds like a win-win. Thanks, Martha.
Obviously, for anyone who isn’t accustomed to using recipes, you can always change the recipes a tad bit to fit your taste. And don’t be afraid to try some of the weird food combinations, we’re college students for crying out loud, eating weird is our specialty! Hopefully give one of these a try the weekend after Thanksgiving before you come back to campus, and make Thanksgiving worthwhile.