Ideas for Turkey Leftovers

I remind Kent often, “I used to have it all together, ya know!”  Not that long ago I was an organized and self-disciplined Mom who kept many balls in the air with very little trouble.  My to-do list rarely had an overwhelming number of items on it and never for longer than a few days.  My laundry was folded, our meals were planned, and I ran a home day care.  I read lots of books and volunteered at church and school.  Christmas shopping was usually finished by mid-September!

Those were the days…

Now that we have four kids and mostly since I began blogging, things are not so rosy, but I’m learning to say “Oh well” and “All I can do is all I can do”.  So I pray for the wisdom to know what I should be trying to get done each day, and for the grace to give God an attitude of gratitude, to enjoy these moments while our kids are young, and for the ability to let go of the heaviness of the to-do list.  (That’s not easy some days is it?  Unless we have something on our shoulders much heavier than to-do items–that brings our perspective back fast.)

Tomorrow on Thanksgiving, I’ll pray that all of you, my reader friends, are also able to lay down whatever it is that’s feeling heavy for you these days and allow the spirit of thankfulness to come in.  🙂

All this rambling began only to explain why I didn’t post the following until a week or two later than I should have.  Hopefully you can still find some of it helpful!

• For those of you that were thinking ahead and got some healthy tallow for frying, are you going to deep fry your turkey in it for a healthy frying oil?
• Here’s my Traditional homemade stuffing recipe.

Ideas for Turkey Leftovers:

• There are tons of chicken recipes at this main dish recipes post that you can use leftover turkey in instead!  Here's a favorite:  Turkey Tetrazzini
• Everyone loves this Chicken Salad Recipe — so yummy on any leftover Homemade Dinner Rolls.
• Don't forget to save the turkey bones to make delicious, nutritious broth. Learn how here.
• Once you've made broth, make a big pot of soup. Many of my soup recipes can easily be changed up to add turkey instead of other meats. Quick meal idea: Sandwiches with leftover turkey and a bowl of turkey noodle soup.
• Extra mashed potatoes?  Make Shepherd's Pie (this also uses up your leftover veggies), or my yummy Mashed Potato Pancakes (such a great way to get more eggs into the kids).
• Leftover veggies can be added to Shepherd's Pie, soups, or thrown into my Healthy Breakfast Casserole.
• Have leftover pumpkin?  Make these:  Grain-free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars or this:  Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
• Leftover squash?  Make my organic Squash Bisque or Butternut Squash Ravioli

Please share your favorite ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers!

More you might like:

• 5 Ways to Make Hosting Thanksgiving Easy (and yummy fudgy pumpkin bars)