Holiday Leftover Ideas

Easter is almost upon us and the very thought gets me excited. To think about what that means to me, to know that it’s the day my Lord rose from the dead and conquered my sins forever makes me happy all over. The very idea of making a ham or turkey and getting together with my loved ones to celebrate this is the best warm fuzzy!

Then, on Monday, you are faced with leftovers. Lots and lots of leftovers. Leftover turkey, leftover ham. And you can only have so many sandwiches before the kids go on a eating strike! What to do? I think I may be able to help. Here are some of my favorite recipes to use those leftovers in a different way. Enjoy them and please leave a comment and let me know if you liked them, or if you have others to share.

Ham and Bean Soup
1 cup leftover ham, cubed
1 large jar of white navy beans or 2 cans Great Northern beans, with liquid
1T. garlic powder
1/4 chopped onion
2 c. water

Place ingredients in crockpot and set on low. Simmer for 5 hours. Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Cordon Blue Casserole
1 cup leftover ham, chopped
1 cup of leftover chicken, chopped
1 bag frozen broccoli
2c. Shredded cheese
2T soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place leftover chicken in pan and add soy sauce, stirring until heated through. Place in “pammed” 9×13″ pan and add ham and broccoli. Stir around until mixed and add cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve or rice.

Ham Skillet
1/2 cup leftover ham
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. shredded cheese
2T sour cream (optional)
1/2 red pepper, chopped fine (optional)
2 eggs, any style

Melt butter in pan on med-high heat. Place cubed potatoes and cook until almost done. Add garlic, onions, ham, and peppers and simmer until just sweating. Cook eggs in separate pan to your liking. Place potato and ham mixture on plate and cooked eggs on top. Top with cheese and sour cream.

Hot Turkey
leftover turkey
leftover gravy
leftover mashed potatoes
2 slices of bread, buttered

Lightly grill the bread in a hot skillet until golden brown. In the microwave, heat the turkey, potatoes, and gravy separately. Lay the bread on a serving plate grilled side up with the mashed potatoes in between. Layer the turkey over the bread and pour hot gravy over all. Yummy!!! And a great quick meal for those days when you are on the run!

Turkey Enchiladas
leftover turkey
tortilla shells
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
1 8oz tub sour cream
milk
1 c shredded cheese

Mix 1 can soup with 1 can’s worth milk, 1/2 the sour cream, 1/3 cheese and turkey. Place in tortilla shells and “roll up”. When all shells are filled, add the second can of soup, and can of milk, and 1/3 of cheese and rest of sour cream. Make a creamy topping and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remainder of cheese. You can make these ahead and freeze. Bake at 400 for 1 hour for frozen, or for 20 minutes for “fresh”. What I like to do when I freeze extra, since I only have 2 pyrex pans, is I line them with heavy duty foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. When I am done, I make sure the foil wraps around the food like a neat little package and then I freeze the whole thing in the pyrex pan. When it’s frozen, I can take it out of the pan and store the foil package in the freezer. When it comes time to cook it again, just place it back in the pan, foil and all! Easier to clean up, too! That idea works for almost any dish.

Turkey Spaghetti
leftover turkey
1 lb. cooked spaghetti noodles
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix noodles, sauce and turkey together. Place in a pyrex dish sprayed cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheese all over the top and cover with foil. Bake for approx 30 minutes. Dish can be made ahead of time and frozen for later use.

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Her column, “Practical Penny Pincher” is a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom. Visit her blog at Titus 2 Woman.