Lovable Leftovers

Sometimes it takes a little creativity to not waste leftovers, especially after a big feast like Thanksgiving. After about 3 or so plates of the same food, most of us will be be bored. However, food waste remains a major source of social and sustainability issues, ranging from the waste of the actual food, to the land and resources it was created on, to the creation of greenhouse gases, to our pocketbooks. For more details, read here from the USDA. 

At my house, we sent plenty of leftovers home with guests, but still ended up with about 10 lunch-sized containers for ourselves. (Don't forget to save your plastic packaging year-round for free "Gladware"!) So we started with:

1. Beginner: Regular plated dinners of the turkey, stuffing, etc in their original form. 
2. One Step Better: Turkey sandwiches. So many varieties here, from open-faced to layered with brie and cranberries!
3. Even Better: Turkey pot pie. Nom!
4. Level Up: Ground turkey, seasoned and stuffed into pasta shells along with ricotta, spinach, and tomato sauce. 

From there, I started to look at all the miscellaneous ingredients left, and fortunately, the perfect recipe came to mind: Broccoli Cheese Soup (a Panera knockoff). What does Broccoli Cheese soup have to do with turkey and stuffing? Nothing. But that's where the creative thinking comes in, and searching for recipes based on ingredients. This is a trick that can work year-round. Just look in your fridge and pantry for what you have left, and plan your menus around using those ingredients before they good bad.

This soup recipe calls for: 

• Butter - a staple, and still had some on my butter dish from serving with rolls
• Onion - had plenty leftover from stuffing ingredients
  
• Carrot - had leftover from stuffing ingredients and from appetizer veggie platter
• Chicken broth - had leftover from my stash for gravy, turkey basting, etc. 
• Half and half - had leftover from a butternut squash dish I make
• Broccoli florets - had leftover from the veggie platter
• Cheddar cheese - had leftover from appetizer cheese tray

Therefore, this recipe basically used up leftover raw ingredients and components of my hors deurves trays - win! 

First step: Saute the onions and carrots in butter until soft.

Next: add a little flour, stirring until combined, then slowly add broth and half and half until you get a thickened sauce. Add your broccoli and spices. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes until the broccoli is soft. 

Finally: Stir in your cheese until melted and silky, and season more if needed. Then take a deep breath in and smell that delicious creamy, cheesy soup. Look - a perfect replica of your cafe favorite!

And, of course, if you still have some of that turkey left, serve alongside a turkey club sandwich. :)

Making the most of my leftovers has never been so tasty! Want to try this recipe? I borrowed it from The Chunky Chef.