now that its over, what will become of the left overs & for how long?
By dloveli
@dloveli (4366)
United States
November 28, 2008 7:21am CST
Its now the day after the big meal. YOu have tons of leftovers and no room in the refrigerator for so much as an egg. What will you do with your turkey. HOw long will you be eating turkey? Today I will make what I call Turkey ED's . The reason I call it this is because the first time I had it was at a place called ED's. A turkey ed is as follows: A big Bulkie roll sliced, on the bottom have spread mayo, then put a layer of stuffing, then a layer of cranberry sauce, then turkey , cheese if you want it, I DONT,and the other half of the roll. DONT FORGET THE SALT! sorry for all the health nuts out there. ITS SOOOOO GOOODMy husband likes it hot. I put it in foil and bake it for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. YOu can also add a smidgen of gravy. I like that too! THen we may have the famous HOT TURKEY SANDWICH. Finally, I will make a turkey soup with egg noodles. If theres any left(there usually isnt) I boil everything remove bones carefully and make my dog a kind of goulash for lack of a better term. If I feel everyone is turkeyed out. I will make a broth and freeze it. My turkey saga usually takes 3-4 days depending on how sick of turkey my family is. AND HOW ABOUT YOU? dl
9 people like this
20 responses
@ThePaintGuru (541)
• United States
29 Nov 08
For me, leftovers are an essential (if not THE essential) part of the Thanksgiving experience. I have been eating them all day in small quantities, and I know that my family and I will not stop until they are completely gone, starting with the mashed potatoes. This year we had a larger than average turkey and nobody over (seriously, it was a complete monster of a bird, almost comically large), so we'll be eating turkey in sandwiches and the like for weeks to come :D.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
29 Nov 08
I don't like to waste food either and I will freeze cooked turkey as well, so I don't have to eat it for a week, it is great that way. I make stew, or sandwiches or eating again as the main meal when I feel like it.
@Zelda414 (149)
• United States
29 Nov 08
i am with you i dont like to waste food and neither does my husband because we have been homeless before at one time in our lives with no food so if we have to eat it for weeks on end til its gone then we will at least we have food whereas many do not.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
28 Nov 08
it wasn't our thanksgiving, ours is in October here in Canada but when we have turkey we buy only a small one as there are only two of us. The left overs are usually good for a second meal, and then maybe enough for a soup or hot turkey sandwiches and that is about it.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
29 Nov 08
That's smart to buy a smaller turkey.
It seems a bit overboard to buy a 25 pound bird and have leftovers for a week when a smaller bird will feed the number of people with just a bit left over. Thanksgiving isn't about gluttony. It's about giving thanks for the bounty of the land.
I had fowl for Thanksgiving a few years ago and we bought a small roasted chicken. It was more than enough for 3 people.
What do you eat for Canadian Thanksgiving?
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
29 Nov 08
well I am from quebec it is a bit difference then the rest of canada because of the french influence,
but of course we all have turkey across canada, some might have ham some have both,
if you don't like turkey some people have chicken,
seafood or whatever the heck they want.
now for a quebec thanksgiving,
turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, mashed carrots, mashed turnips, peas, cranberry sauce, tortieres( hamburger meet pies), ragout (stew, chicken or pigs feet normally in a thick gravy with meatballs) and various desserts
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
29 Nov 08
we get a week maybe.my family likes to make sandwiches,and then when there's no more to pick,i throw it in a stew pot with veggies and make a soup.
the soup lasts maybe an additional 3 days.
i usually have a break with something else in the middle so they don't have turkey burnout.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
29 Nov 08
yes, I sometimes freeze it and have it at another time of the year, depending on how big it is, but I make different kind of sandwiches and soup from it.
@Zelda414 (149)
• United States
29 Nov 08
wow, well in my case i make hot or cold turkey sandwiches so good, i eat the meal all over, i make turkey soup, i make turkey n veggies, i give some to my dog and my friends and by that time its all gone sometimes it takes a wk to two wks or sometimes it takes less but this year i am pregnant so might go quicker lol. my dog went crazy she ate two helpings of turkey n stuffing cranberry almond stuffing that is.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
29 Nov 08
I don't buy a really big turkey so I don;t have that much left over and we make different kinds of sandwiches and soup too.
@mssnow (9484)
• United States
28 Nov 08
I do plan to make my leftovers last as long as I can. i think Im gonna try to stretch it over a week. Im going to look for some cool creative recipes to use leftover turkey. Then maybe freeze some for another day. when we get sick of it we can stop eat some other things then One night a few weeks from now i can use the frozen turkey.
@ladynetz (968)
• Canada
28 Nov 08
I use meat leftovers in salats.
My favorite one is to mix peas, carrots, potatoes, and pickles with mayo and the meat. It's soooo good, and it doesn't matter how much I make, it last one, maximum 2 days.
Everyone loves it in my family and it's the best when cold.
And you know, when you open the frige looking for something to eat, that does not need fussing around, this one is just excelent!
Just pour in a dish, or on a piece of bread, and you're good to go.
An, you barely can feel the meat, so you don't have to be afraid that someone will say "again, this turkey......"
Good luck!
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
29 Nov 08
That is my husbands very favorite sandwich.I cut up the leftover turkey today.The white meat is in the fridege for cold sandwiches. The dark meat i cut up and put it into the leftover gravy. I love hot turkey sandwiches.I will boil the rest for soup tomorrow.I love the stretching the food budget out like this.
@luvstochat (6907)
• United States
28 Nov 08
I sent most of the leftovers home with my mom and aunt so I won't sit and eat them. I am doing a Hold It For The Holidays challange where I am suppose to not gain any weight over the holidays so what isn't here I won't be able to eat!
1 person likes this
@cortney09 (1345)
• United States
30 Nov 08
We didn't have a Thanksgiving dinner because we couldn't afford it. So, we didn't have any leftovers. What you were talking about doing with all the leftovers sounds really, really good. I would never think about doing that kind of stuff with leftovers. I will have to remember this for next year.
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
29 Nov 08
I love to make Turkey sandwhiches out of the left over turkey. For some reason turkey with mayonaise and bread tastes so good to me. We will just eat the ham as is, but the bone will be used to either make split pea soup or navy bean soup. I have not decided which yet. the side dishes will get eaten with the ham. I am sure most if not all of it will get eaten.
@hotsummer (13837)
• Philippines
29 Nov 08
i will just give away to my friends those left overs. i don't like eating the same food every day. i just end up throwing those left over. i don't like cooking a lot. i don't want toget too fat too so i will just wish them to be thrown than end up all in my stomach.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
28 Nov 08
I have cleaned every thing off the bones that I can and now those bones are simmering in water along with carrots onions and celery for a nice broth. Except for enought turkey fora meal today the rest will go into the freezer for future meals. So will some of the dressing mashed potatoes and green bean cassarole. I will alos cook the greens down more and add some to the mashed potatoes. I have a few rolls left over for turkey sandwiches. My grandson will eat on it for every meal if I let him but I like to spread those meals out some.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
28 Nov 08
Like you, the leftovers are an opportunity to be creative and make something new. I use the leftovers in other recipes. I like to put cut up turkey on a green leaf salad with Ranch dressing or Italian dressing. All those veggies from the veggie tray also go well in this salad. Don't forget to top it off with cheese cubes.
@wifeofharvey (1156)
• United States
28 Nov 08
After we have all had at least one plateful of the full dinner again we will start to repackage the leftovers. Some will go into packages the size the two of us will eat, and some will be made into individual dinner sizes. Freezing and marking well, including the date. The turkey carcass will be simmered into a soup base. Nothing goes to waste! I hate to see food thrown away!
@metschica25 (5399)
• United States
28 Nov 08
I think i might make now thinking about how good it is . torn up pieces of turkey and stuffing all mixed together and then after that pour gravy on and heat . that is pretty good . they used to make a dish like that at school and everyone loved it .
@metschica25 (5399)
• United States
28 Nov 08
Hey Hey ,
We kinda had a smaller bird this year but there will be some left overs . Most of the stuff stayed at my parents house this year. we did get lots of sides and turkey that will last today and a sammy for my fiance to take to work tomorrow .
His gram now has the big turkey and will be making so much stuff like soups and dishes so she will have her till mid next week . I do have a whole pumpkin pie tho but that wont last long once fiance gets home
@lilcee (2703)
• United States
28 Nov 08
We made our kids take some leftovers home. The rest we will continue to eat til it's gone. We don't like to waste food and try to eat it within a few days so it doesn't go bad. I'll make some kind of casserole or maybe a pot pie with the turkey. Most of the leftovers are desserts.