Leftovers... What do you do with them?

[Dar]

This time of year we all are waiting for the big Christmas meal and them we end up eating Turkey or ham for a week right?... (this is where you nod and smile)

What do you do with your Christmas meal left overs?

We have pretty big appetites in my family so a standard portion is a snack for my teen-aged boys and my DH so recipes are usually doubled

This past weekend we are at my moms for Christmas dinner which was:
a small turkey
a small roast of beef cause DH and my dad wont eat turkey and my mom and i love it
and a boiled "jiggs dinner" corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots, peas pudding, blueberry duff with lemon sauce (it s newfie thing)

as appitizers there was
a shrimp ring, (no leftovers)
cheese and pickle plate
veggies and dip

and then dessert.

so because my mom and dad are empty nesters I had to take home the left overs

so with my leftovers I made:

A beef stew with the left over roast beef, just added a few more veggies, used the gravy from dinner as a starter for the juice for the stew.

I then made a home made mac 'n cheese with the cheese left over from the cheese and pickle plate and I had some frozen ham from thanksgiving so I threw that in there too so it turned out to be a baked mac ' n cheese with ham

with the turkey i removed all the meat off the bones and tossed that into a huge bowl, added the last of the bag of frozen diced hash browns from the freezer, the leftover carrots and potatoes added a can of cream of chicken soup to hold it all together, with the left over onion dip mixed it altogether and made a casserole with it..

so now I have made the meals for the week and it was all left overs....

what do you do with your left overs?

 

[Gonzo]

Wow! I wish I had that talent! I just cook this outragously large meal (family of four), then we just have warm up's for 3 days,(or until kids & hubby complain) then whats left, get split between the dogs, chickens and my daughters pet lab rats.

 

[Wildsky]

We generally don't make a huge Christmas dinner, I make a big fuss about breakfast/brunch on Christmas morning, and I might roast a chicken for dinner, but nothing too much.

Let me put it this way, if it prevents me from taking an afternoon nap on Christmas day, then we ain't eating it!

 

[pixie74943]

Left-overs?? What is this strange concoction?

Whatever tiny bits are left get turned into 'dinner', because we normally have a family lunch and no one can be bothered having dinner. If there is anything left after that... We have critters, and they like Christmas Treats too!

Or on one of those rare years where we dont eat much, Leftover roasts tend to become pies. Vegies to the chickens. Deserts back in the fridge/freezer and they last a bit longer.

 

[Dar]

my mom is insane when it comes to cooking... she loves doing it so she will make 3 separate meals all for the same meal just to make people happy... so there is always lots of left overs

 

[BedHead]

Hmm, it kind of depends on my mood

I always make bone broth with the turkey carcass, which gets used for everything from soup to curries for the next few months. Everything gets put in the fridge, and we just reheat it on plates for the next couple of days. Sometimes I make hash with the veggies, potatoes and gravy. Anything still in the fridge after a few days gets frozen. The leftover turkey gets frozen and we use it for sandwiches, quesadillas, soup, salads, whatever till it's gone

 

[DuckLady]

I make up "TV dinners" and freeze them.

I use the turkey carcass, ham bone, prime rib bones for broth which I freeze.

 

[Tala]

I make broth from the bones. After I'm done with them, the chickens get to pick them over as well. Then I have to collect them from the yard so the dog doesn't get them (cooked bird bones being a splintering hazzard)

Most everything else gets eaten up in a day or two, either here or DH packs a lunch. What's left after we're tired of it goes to the birds, but it's not much!!!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
What do you use as containers? I have small glass bowls which I bought for freezing leftovers in portion sizes, but it gets expensive buying all those pyrex dishes, I like to have my goodies in a container that can be used to re-heat and eat out of. (I know picky)

I really need more, I wish they made pyrex dishes like they have those plastic tv dinner things...

If I have more leftovers I use my vacuum sealer - but food in a bag like that never looks real good!

It works well for stews and such.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
Tupperware of course!

http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/Tuppe...&pagenumber=1&circularid=15394&batchid=855674

Pages 6&7
Any of these will work. I use them all the time.

The divided dish (right page, bottom left) is great for a family leftover meal. It holds enough for 2 to 4 peeps.
The Medium and Medium deep (left page top left) is other all purpose ones. I use the medium deep for freezing a quart of broth.

Get with me if you want to order.