Now that Thanksgiving is over and our leftovers are disappearing… oh, they aren’t?

I see we have a problem.  I’ve been talking to many folks just like you who always make a lot of food for Thanksgiving and just get tired of eating it after about the third day.  Another plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole just isn’t going to make it past the family again.

My challenge every year is how do I disguise the leftovers?  I know I could probably cut down on the amount of food I make each Thanksgiving, but what’s the fun of that?  Besides, I’d rather cook once and have meals for a week than cook every day.  It’s more economical in the long run, although it takes a bit of imagination to re-create your Thanksgiving dishes into something brand new.

Here are just a couple ways that I have successfully served meals made from leftovers without too much trouble.

Turkey Soup – This, of course, is the simplest way to stretch your turkey dinner without a lot of fuss.  I always use my turkey frame, or carcass, to boil up a nice rich batch of turkey stock.  I’ve included a recipe to do this if you’d like to click here and see how I turn my turkey bones into soup.  Once the stock is ready you can add anything you like normally in your soup, like vegetables, pasta, and rice.  If you have leftover veggies from your crudite platter, throw those in, as well.

Creamy Turkey Soup – When the green bean casserole, stuffing, and mashed potatoes get to be too much, throw them all into your food processor with some of the turkey stock you made and blend it up.  The result is a very thick and rich base for a cream soup.  Mix and match your vegetables just like you would if they were raw, keeping similar vegetables together – like broccoli and cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes, etc.  When the cooked veggies are all blended nice and smooth, pour into a soup pot.    You can add milk or cream if you like, and even some cheese, even throw in a bit of diced turkey for a hearty chowder.  It tastes like Thanksgiving In A Pot.  If you have leftover pumpkin puree and sweet potato casserole you may want to experiment with a creamy soup that’s a little sweet.

Layered Casserole – Instead of putting plates together over and over again of the same three, four, or five ingredients, try layering them in a casserole dish.  Be careful not to overcook when you heat the casserole since everything was cooked once and you don’t want your vegetables to get mushy.  If you have a lot of leftover stuffing and gravy, try a dish with layers of stuffing, turkey, gravy, and fresh, frozen, or leftover broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans topped with a little more gravy.  This seems to be a favorite in our house.

Quiche – Add a little cheese to any leftovers and you’ll hear no complaints!  This is a great way to use up a couple leftovers; stuffing and turkey.  The way it works is the stuffing becomes a mock-crust when mixed with a beaten egg.  You press the mixture into a pie pan and voila!  A crust for your quiche.  If you’d like to check out the Thanksgiving Quiche recipe in full, just click here.

Those are a few very simple ideas.  Of course, you can get more complicated, but I like to keep it as simple as possible.  If you’d like to see even more Holiday recipe ideas click right here.  I know the holidays will be busy for you, so please take the time to plan your meals and your leftovers so you have more time to relax with your family.

It may seem almost impossible to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule the day before Thanksgiving, but when under extreme pressure, those few moments to yourself become even more important.

When our kids start acting up, what’s the first thing you think?  He or she must be tired, hungry, frustrated, or overwhelmed.  Well, it’s the same thing for you.  If you allow yourself to get tired, hungry, frustrated, or overwhelmed, you, too, will act up.  Normally, an adult will “act up” by getting a headache, sore back, or start snapping at the people around you.  The emotional erosion caused by a hectic day filled with expectations happens slowly, but the reaction to the stress may happen very quickly – before having a chance to even consider that you may have gone beyond your limit.

So, I’ll make this request for today short and sweet.  Take five minutes today to walk away from whatever chore you are doing, go into a quiet place and close your eyes.  Think about just one thing that you can be thankful for today.  Let your mind focus only on that one thing.  Then, go back to your chores and see if you can keep those good feelings going.

If you find those feelings slipping away later during the day, go through the same five minute exercise again.  Excuse yourself from whatever it is you are doing, slip away to somewhere quiet, even if that means sitting in your car, and focus once again on just one thing to be thankful for.  Then, when your good feelings return, go ahead and get busy again.

This little five minute exercise works well to relieve stress, but it is also a simple reminder to count your blessings.  Tell your family what you are doing and invite them to share in this method to reflect and unwind… of course in their own little quiet place!

Show your children by example that each and every one of us has pressures in our life that we sometimes don’t feel we can handle.  And, that a few minutes in “time-out” gives even grownups a chance to slow down and refocus our thoughts.  Share this with your children because focusing on our blessings is definitely a skill that will reap benefits for a lifetime.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving filled with all the blessings your heart can hold!

p.s.  Take a few moments with your children today to read together.  One of our favorite little stories is Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and Doris Barrette.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Does it take you as long to clean up after Thanksgiving dinner as it does to prepare your feast?  Being up to my elbows in greasy dishes and dirty pots and pans isn’t exactly my idea of the end to a perfect day.

However, a big meal does produce a lot of dishes.  What are some of the ways we can reduce this tedious chore at the end of the day?

1) Use an oven bag to roast your turkey. This works well for me for several reasons.  Soaking a roasting pan is a chore I’d rather eliminate and because the nice brown bits don’t stick to the roasting pan, they’re inside the bag, clean up is much easier.  Plus, the other upside to roasting my turkey in an oven bag is it captures the juices and browns itself right in the bag.  No basting.  Saves some of the fussing which wastes time, and saves a lot of the clean up, which also wastes time.

2) Make as many one dish items as you can. If you’re mixing together mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream for a dish, do it all in the casserole you’re using.  If when you’re preparing your dishes you see two or three mixing bowls lined up, re-examine your method and consolidate if you can.

3) Consider some disposable utensils. Your best dishes may be sacrosanct for your Thanksgiving dinner, but consider one tiny step to getting rid of a small portion of your clean up detail.  How about using small festive paper plates just for dessert?  And, don’t forget to remind everybody to hang onto their forks after dinner!  Your dinner guests love to accommodate this request, especially when they know dessert’s on its way!

4) Line every casserole dish with tin foil. This is a no brainer for me.  I’ve learned long ago to line those stuffing casseroles with tin foil because that stuff really stick to the sides of a dish.  You can eliminate a lot of soaking and scrubbing with this little trick.

5) Wash as you go. I must give credit to my Hubby for this one.  Before you even begin your chopping and mixing, fill the sink with hot soapy water.  Every thing you use goes in and as you move to the next dish, the first thing you do is wash up what you used and it’s done.  This is also a nice method especially when you have limited measuring cups, spoons, and mixing bowls.  Everything is ready for the next step and nothing piles up.

6) Prepare what you can ahead of time. Of course, anything you can make a day or two ahead of time will help the clean up process.  But, don’t forget that something as simple as chopping onions and celery and storing them in a zip lock bag will help, too.  Having your cutting boards and knives clean and ready on Thanksgiving morning for other tasks is a real time saver.

These are just a few simple ideas that I wanted to share with you.  I know you’ve probably developed some of your own easy clean up ideas and I would love it if you would share them with us here.  Have a restful and wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

p.s.  If long tedious house cleaning projects are not your idea of a good way to spend your time, check out some of the Spring Cleaning Tips For Mom to get your house sparkling clean, without all the hard work.