By Cybele Pascal
The sentiment, "waste not, want not" has never been more true than in these recessionary times. So after your Thanksgiving celebration, rework those holiday leftovers into several delicious day-after-and-more meals. The following dishes are all simple to make (who really feels like heavy cooking after all that holiday prep?), use up surplus ingredients, and call for staples that most of us have on hand (because who feels like shopping, either?).
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Cranberry Sauce Muffins
These sweet yet tart muffins with their heavenly aroma are the perfect way to get energized for your "Black Friday" shopping. All you need to do is mix up the ingredients-which include cranberry sauce, cinnamon and lemon zest-and ladle them into muffin tins. Bake up a dozen, and watch them disappear!
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Cranberry Sauce Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
2 ½ cups white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
¾ cup plain Greek-style yogurt (whole milk or low-fat milk)
¼ cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
½ tsp. lemon zest
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray (or line with muffin liners).
2. Measure flour by spooning into a dry measuring cup, level with a straightedge or back of a knife, then pour into a mixing bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
3. In a separate mixing bowl whisk eggs until slightly frothy. Add yogurt, milk and canola oil. Whisk well until smooth. Add lemon zest and brown sugar, mixing well. Add cranberry sauce and stir with a spoon until thoroughly combined.
4. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened. The batter should still be lumpy with a few little spots of dry flour. Do not over mix. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each to the rim.
5. Bake in center of oven 22 minutes, rotating muffin tin once halfway through, until muffins are a lovely golden color on top. Remove tin from oven, transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
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Morning After Turkey Hash
This country hash makes a hearty breakfast or satisfying brunch, uses up some of that leftover turkey, gravy, and those roasted potatoes, and is a crowd pleaser across the board. So start chopping!
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Morning After Turkey Hash
(Dairy-free)
Yield: 6 servings
2 cups roast turkey, shredded
¼ cup turkey gravy
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups cooked potatoes, cubed into ½-inch pieces (leftover roasted potatoes work well for this)
½ cup yellow or white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. thyme
6 eggs
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1. Combine shredded turkey with gravy, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until golden and slightly crispy. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring often, 3-4 minutes until golden. Add bell pepper, salt, pepper, paprika and thyme. Cook, stirring often, about 4 minutes more, until pepper is slightly softened.
4. Transfer onion/pepper mixture to bowl with potatoes. Add turkey mixture and stir gently until combined.
5. Preheat oven to 250°F. Preheat large baking tray or baking dish in oven.
6. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in the skillet. Add hash, pat down surface with spatula, and cook, turning portions occasionally, for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to preheated baking tray or dish, and place hash in oven.
7. Wipe out skillet, add a little more olive oil, and fry eggs in two batches over medium heat.
8. Remove hash from oven. Serve eggs over hash, sprinkled with parsley.
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Creamy Harvest Soup
This dish is a great for taking leftover yams, pumpkin, apples and other ingredients to blend into a "creamy" low-fat soup. Serve it with a green salad and you've got a light warming lunch, brimming with good-for-you beta-carotene.
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Creamy Harvest Soup
(Allergen-free, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Vegan)
Yield: 6 servings
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced (1 cup)
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 cups cooked sweet potatoes, yams, or winter squash (mashed, diced, roasted, etc, or a 10 oz. package if using frozen)
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, diced (or Gala, Braeburn or Jonagold apples)
4 scallions, chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups pumpkin (15 oz. can)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup apple juice
roasted pumpkin seeds, or chopped scallions for garnish (optional)
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy pot. Add onions and ginger and cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes.
2. Add sweet potatoes/yams/squash, apples, scallions and curry powder. Cook a couple minutes, stirring often, until apples soften slightly.
3. Add salt, pumpkin, broth and apple juice. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover loosely, and cook at a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every so often.
4. In batches, puree soup in blender, (or use a hand blender), until smooth and creamy. Return to pot, warm through, and serve piping hot, topped with a sprinkling of roasted pumpkin seeds, or chopped scallions. This soup is even better day two.
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Turkey Pot Pie with Mashed Potatoes
Comfort food at its best: part potpie, part shepherd's pie, and chock-full of leftovers. This one pot meal uses up turkey, gravy, and the thanksgiving sides; pearl onions, peas, corn, cooked carrots, and mashed potatoes. It also keeps well for several days, and can be reheated on demand. This can be made dairy-free, gluten-free, and allergen-free by following the optional tips below. Additionally, if you don't have an oven safe-casserole, you may bake this in a deep-dish pie dish, or deep baking pan.
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Turkey Pot Pie with Mashed Potatoes
(Allergen-free, Dairy-free, Gluten-free – with adjustments noted below)
Yield: 6 servings
¼ cup olive oil
1/2 cup pearl onions (or 1/2 cup onion, diced)
2 stalks celery, chopped
½ cup carrots, sliced or chopped (cooked or raw)
¼ cup white whole wheat or all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour or choice (brown rice flour works well)
1 cup turkey gravy (Imagine Foods offers a dairy-free, gluten-free turkey gravy that you can use instead)
1 cup milk, (or soy milk, or rice milk)
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cups roast turkey, diced into bite-sized pieces
½ cup corn (cooked, frozen, canned, or fresh)
½ cup peas
¼ cup parsley, chopped
3 cups mashed potatoes
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Heat 1 Tbsps. of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots, and cook, stirring often, until just tender, 3-4 minutes. (If you are using cooked carrots, add them in the last minute of cooking time.) Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a medium oven-safe casserole (3 ½-5 quarts), heat the remaining 3 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes until lightly golden. Add gravy and milk and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, until it thickens up into a nice smooth cream sauce. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in ½ tsp. of the lemon juice.
4. Add turkey, onion/celery/carrot mixture, corn and peas to the cream sauce. Stir to coat. Add remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, a little more salt and pepper, and parsley. Stir well to combine.
5. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over filling.
6. Bake in center of oven 30-40 minutes until potatoes are browned a bit on top and filling is bubbling up around the edges.
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Cranberry Apple Crisp
Crisps are the ideal dessert. Homey, fruity and about as simple to make as it gets. You can use just about any fruit you like to make a crisp, but cranberries and apples are perfect baked together. This delicious old-fashioned dessert is fantastic after dinner, but also makes a great healthy breakfast, or a snack in between. As an added bonus, for those watching their cholesterol and trans fats, it's vegan and trans fat-free.
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