- Don't know what to do with all that leftover food
from over the holidays?
Today, I'm showing you five easy ways
to repurpose all your turkey, pumpkin and cranberries
and they're all so delicious
that you'll forget you're even eating leftovers.
Hey, guys, welcome back to my channel.
It's Taylor from The Girl on Bloor.
I'm all about showing you how to make easy, healthy recipes
that you can live your best life.
Now, today, we are focusing on a topic
that I'm pretty passionate about which is food waste.
If you've ever had good intentions to use up leftover turkey
after a big holiday dinner
but it ends up getting lost in your freezer instead
then this video is for you.
Today, I'll be showing you how to make
leftover turkey taste delicious.
You just need to get a bit creative
in order to make it enticing again.
We'll be making zucchini noodle soup jars,
mini turkey pot pies, turkey tetrazzini,
a holiday leftovers poutine
and a bonus pumpkin mac and cheese recipe
in case you have too much pumpkin kicking around too.
All of these ideas are actually gonna get you so excited
to eat your leftovers
and I've even got a free seven day meal plan
filled with all of these good eats
so that you can start eating your leftovers right away
instead of leaving them for months
and forgetting about them.
The meal plan will help you avoid turning your freezer
into a black hole.
Okay, let's get started with our zucchini noodle soup jars.
These are a favorite for lunch
and a lower carb way to enjoy leftover turkey
in case you get sick of stuffing and all that.
Dice up two small yellow onions, three stalks of celery,
two carrots and one red pepper
then you'll mince four cloves of garlic.
Once you've done that little bit of prep,
heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot
over medium high heat.
Add everything you just prepped
except for the bell peppers which cook a lot faster.
Saute all of that for six to seven minutes
until everything is tender
then you'll stir in your red pepper,
one teaspoon of thyme, one teaspoon of oregano,
one teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.
Cook that all up another two minutes then remove from heat.
Now you'll add about half a cup of leftover cooked turkey
to each jar then divide your veggie mixture among the jars.
Add a chicken bouillon cube to each jar
then top with about one cup
of spiralized zucchini from the store.
I always buy mine store-bought
because it's pretty commonplace nowadays
and it saves me a ton of time on meal prep.
You can however spiralize your own zucchini
if you have a spiralizer.
These jars will last in the fridge for four days.
They are perfect for healthy lunches after the holidays
and they're so comforting too.
Who doesn't love chicken noodle soup?
When you're ready to serve,
just boil some water in your kettle
then pour the boiling water overtop of the ingredients
in your jars.
You will probably need to also microwave
for one to two minutes
just to ensure the zucchini noodles cook through
but see how tender they are to your liking
after letting them sit for five minutes.
Pour into a bowl then serve and enjoy.
Next up is a classic, turkey tetrazzini.
This is probably one of the more common recipes
you see people recommending to use up your leftover turkey
but for good reason.
It's delicious and the perfect comfort food
for cold weather.
My version is made on the stove top
so no need to bake at all and do that extra work.
So first up, you're going to cook one pound of spaghetti
in a large pot of boiling water on the stove.
Cook for about nine minutes until al dente
then reserve one cup of the pasta water before draining
and setting aside.
While the pasta is cooking,
you can cook up eight ounces of sliced mushrooms
with a little bit of butter in a large skillet.
Cook for about three to four minutes
until the liquid has been released then set them aside.
Now, melt one tablespoon of butter
in the pot you used to cook the pasta in.
Add in two cloves of minced garlic
sauteing for 30 seconds until fragrant
then you'll whisk in one tablespoon of flour
making sure to use a whisk to get rid of any lumps
and whisk in half a cup of dry white wine.
Simmer for two to three minutes
until the wine is slightly reduced
then you'll add in one cup of your pasta water,
half a cup of heavy cream, half a teaspoon of salt,
a quarter teaspoon of pepper
and half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
Bring that all to a boil
then add your pasta and mushrooms back to the pot
along with two cups of leftover turkey
and one cup of frozen peas.
Toss well to combine cooking another two minutes
until everything is heated through.
Garnish with parsley and a little extra Parm
and you've got comfort in a bowl.
I love this pasta so much.
I also make it when I have leftover chicken to use up.
Okay, moving on to our chicken pot pie
and we are making them in cute little ramekins
then topping with puff pastry to make it so easy.
First, you'll preheat your oven to 400 degrees
then dice up one yellow onion,
two stalks of celery and two carrots.
You'll also mince four cloves of garlic.
With the prep out of the way,
heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet
over medium high heat.
Add your onions, celery carrots, garlic,
half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper.
Saute for three to four minutes until softened.
Add two tablespoons of flour and whisk it all together
then you'll whisk in two cups of chicken broth
bringing it all to a boil.
Be sure to stir often as it starts to thicken up
then you'll stir in two cups of leftover turkey
and one cup of frozen peas
then remove the skillet from heat.
Now, you'll divide the turkey mixture evenly
among four medium sized ramekins.
I used the CorningWare kind
but I've also linked to some other ones
in the link in my description.
Now, roll out one sheet
or you can buy those squares of puff pastry
and cut the pastry into half inch thick slices
with a pizza cutter.
Take these slices and add them to the ramekins
in a crisscross fashion
or just place a large piece of puff pastry
overtop of the whole ramekin if you're feeling lazy.
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet
and bake in the oven for 20 minutes
until your puff pastry is golden brown.
You are going to die.
The presentation on these is out of this world
and this is a great recipe
for if you're trying to impress someone.
They'll be even more impressed
when they discover that they're made with leftovers to boot.
Okay, now our final turkey recipe
before I show you the bonus pumpkin recipe
is this delectable holiday leftovers poutine.
You can literally use up all of your leftovers
in this recipe including your veggies and cranberry sauce.
Here's how to make it.
So first up, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Add a bag of frozen fries to a parchment lined baking sheet
then you're going to cook them
for about 10 minutes per side.
You want them to be mostly cooked through
before you add anything overtop.
Once the fries are done, remove them from the oven
then top with two cups of your leftover veggies.
I don't know about you but we always have corn,
peas, carrots and Brussels sprouts left over
so those are what I'm using.
Ideally, these veggies will be cooked when you add them
but you can always saute them in a pan on the stove
if you're craving holiday flavors
without having the leftovers on hand.
Once you've added your veggies,
add one cup of leftover turkey,
even leftover holiday ham would work here
and then add one cup of cheese curds
and two cups of leftover gravy.
See, I told you
that you'd be using up all of the leftovers with this one.
Bake another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted
and then you're ready to serve.
You can even add some leftover cranberry sauce overtop too
along with some parsley for garnish
but other than that, you are good to dig in.
Now, our last bonus holiday leftovers dinner idea
which is the super creamy pumpkin mac and cheese.
It's a one-pot meal that comes together in half an hour
and you basically only need some leftover pumpkin puree
and some cheese.
It's insanely easy.
So what you'll do is cook one pound of mini pasta shells
in boiling water on the stove for about 10 minutes
until al dente.
When the pasta is done, drain the water
and then add your cooked pasta back to the pot.
Reduce your heat on the stove to medium
then add two tablespoons of butter to your pasta
stirring until melted
then you'll pour in one can of evaporated milk
and one cup of pumpkin puree stirring well and just a tip.
You can actually freeze leftover pumpkin puree
so get on that
if you know you won't be using any more of it for a while.
Add in one cup of mozzarella or Swiss cheese
then three quarters of a cup of cheddar cheese
along with some salt and pepper to taste.
This is mac and cheese on a whole new level
and you'll be so happy to reduce your food waste even more.
And there you have it,
all of the amazing holiday leftover recipes you need to try
if you struggle with how to use them up.
I feel like you see the same recipes year after year
so hopefully these new creative ideas
have helped you rediscover your love of leftovers.
Now, you can actually freeze leftover turkey
for up to six months.
So if you don't get around to these recipes right away,
that's totally okay.
Just be sure to label your container or freezer bags
so that you know when you need to use the turkey up
and take stock of what's in your freezer on a regular basis.
In addition to the five easy recipes I just showed you,
don't forget that there are even more holiday leftover ideas
up on my blog.
I've linked to many more options all on blog posts
for you to take a look at it in the description.
It's actually going to blow your mind.
There are so many ways to use up leftover turkey
that I never even knew about.
The goal is to get you excited to use it up
and not just let it get lost in the freezer.
Speaking of getting organized and avoiding the freezer,
my free seven day holiday leftovers meal plan is perfect
if you're looking to eat healthy food every day
after the big feast
but you also wanna reduce your food waste.
You can find the link for that download
in the description as well.
If you learned a new way to use turkey today,
be sure to give this video a thumbs up,
share it with friends and family
so that they can also discover the magic of leftovers
and tag me on Instagram @thegirlonbloor
when you give these recipes a try.
Which one will you be trying first?
Thanks for hanging out in my kitchen today
and I will see you in the next video.