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. 

Twelve Days of Conscious Christmas: Day 11, Enjoying those Holiday Leftovers

The best way to get bored with leftovers is to eat them exactly the way they were served the first time. Then a week after the holiday you end up emptying out a ton of spoiled containers that were pushed to the back of the fridge. Instead, gather a list of recipes to creatively re-use those leftovers in new dishes!

This applies to recipes that use parts of a food as well. For example, did you make eggs benedict for Christmas brunch that used a bunch of egg yolks only for the hollaindaise? Use the egg whites to make meringues or other baked treats.

Did you make a holiday ham and have a few pounds leftovers? Use some to make a bean or split pea soup, and some for a croque monsieur or madame.

Did you have a veggie and ranch tray? Roast or steam some of those veggies and add to a pasta primavera. 

Today for breakfast, I used leftover mashed potatoes (my mom makes the best with garlicky Boursin cheese mixed in!) to make a baked eggs skillet. Add the mashed potatoes to a cast iron skillet. Make 4 wells for eggs, add cheese, and bake for about 20 minutes. Watch towards the end and don't over cook: you want the whites just done and the yolks still runny. 

You can also use leftover mashed potatoes for potato pancakes. Don't be shy to think outside the box (or Google "[ingredient] recipes" for inspiration) and make something exciting and new out of those leftovers. 

 

Conscious Cookies!

With Thanksgiving having just passed us, do you have any leftover pumpkin puree? I know, crazy question, just like those articles talking about uses for "leftover wine".

If you do, try baking it into cookies! If you don't ,did you know that mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash make an easy substitute, and it's a creative way to repurpose those leftovers?

I can't claim credit for this recipe (that goes to Lauren Miyashiro on Delish.com), but I did taste test it for you. It a fairly basic sugar cookie recipe, with just 9 basic ingredients, including pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. They're then topped with a cream cheese frosting, with just 5 ingredients. The ingredients are almost entirely kitchen staples.

(The final product - yum!)

The recipe calls for 2 cookie sheets. It easily made 3+ dozen cookies.

You can also make one simple swap in this process, replacing the parchment paper for silicone sheet pan liners. Not just for baking, silicone keeps your pan from having baked on messes, is easily washable, and replaces disposables like aluminum foil and parchment paper. Silicone is becoming popular with those trying to reduce waste, not only because it replaces single use items, but it's also non-toxic and doesn't contain BPA. T, as the primary dish-washer of the house, is *loving* my increased use of silicon, which is cutting down on time, elbow grease, water, and soap. They don't need to break the bank either; I got a 3-pack for around $15, and they also have measurement markings. They will pay for themselves within the first year, considering the cost of other single-use products.

(These sheets make it so easy.)

(Cook until browned, then let cool.)

These cookies are the perfect compliment to your coffee or as a dessert this fall. What are some of your tried and true recipes to re-purpose leftovers?