Cooking Up Your Christmas Leftovers

The string of Christmas parties inevitably leaves a trail of leftover food items in the ref.  How do you transform them into still-ravishing dishes which do not seem like leftovers at all?  Here are some tips and tricks.

Leftover Turkey

Because turkey is the iconic symbol of the holidays, it is also one of the most common leftover foods.  Choose from among the following leftover cooking ideas on how to give second life to that leftover bird.

• Shred turkey meat and sauté in taco spices.  Spoon sautéed turkey meat into taco shells and then top with chilies, hot sauce and fresh cabbage for a crisp and fresh-tasting turkey taco.
• A quick way to use up your leftover turkey and gravy is to make them into a casserole dish.  Simply dice the meat, transfer them to a casserole baking dish, drizzle with leftover turkey gravy and top with leftover mashed potatoes.  If you do not have any leftover mashed potatoes, leftover turkey stuffing will suffice.  Bake for a few minutes and you’ll have a delicious dish which hardly tastes like leftover.
• Brush a store-bought pizza dough with barbecue sauce, top with diced leftover turkey, sprinkle with leftover cheese cubes, mushrooms, tomatoes, red bell pepper and red onions for a hot and spicy turkey pizza treat.

Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are also common holiday leftover food items.  Here are ways to sneak them into “new” dishes:

• Make crisp potato pancakes by deep-frying or baking a mixture of leftover mashed potatoes and diced ham.
• Make yummy burger pies by combining leftover mashed potatoes with egg.  Bake the patties for a healthy twist, fry for an indulgent treat or grill for a smoky finish.
• You can also make a sip-worthy chowder out of leftover mashed potatoes by just dropping them into a simmering soup of onions, potatoes, carrots, eggs and milk. 
 

Leftover Ham

There is never a dearth of ideas on how to use up leftover ham creatively.

• Crumble leftover ham and drop into simmering pots of soups and chowders.
• Dice ham, sauté garlic in sesame oil and add cooked rice, ham, salt and soy sauce for a quick and tasty fried rice.
• Make delicious quiche and casseroles, filo rolls and sandwiches out of leftover ham bits and what-have-you’s in the kitchen.
 

Leftover Candy Canes

You’ll be surprised at how many uses there are for your leftover edible canes.

• Use candy canes as wacky stirring sticks for your morning coffee, afternoon tea or evening chocolate.
• Crush candy canes and sprinkle on your breakfast cereal for added color and crisp.
• Roughly grind candy canes, store in Ziploc bags and freeze for future uses as ice cream or sundae toppings.
• Use broken candy cane as textured sweeteners for shakes and smoothies.