What to Do With Holiday Leftovers

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is over!  It seems like just the other day my husband was busily brining a 12 pound turkey, me happily making a homemade pumpkin pie.  The fabulous thing about having a big meal (and a small family) is that we haven’t had to cook much lately.  We had a ton of food leftover and have been making turkey sandwiches for lunch.  I’m not the most innovative at using leftovers, but I did find a site that has inspirational meal ideas for your all the turkey you still have left!

Vons’ Leftover Lounge includes creative ideas to ensure that turkey you worked so hard to prepare doesn’t go to waste. Soups, salads, and sandwiches are tasty (and healthy) meal ideas that don’t require a lot of time or effort.  Here is one of my favorites:

Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Baguettes

Ingredients:  

2 tbsp Safeway Select Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Safeway Clover Honey (or why not try Agave nectar)

1 Safeway Select Artisan French Baguette

1/2 cup cranberry sauce (my husband made one that was incredible)

8 oz sliced cooked turkey

4 oz sliced Safeway Select Primo Taglio Brie (I actually have to use mozzarella because of the pregnancy but I LOVE brie)

1 1/2 oz arugula

If you take a look at the list of ingredients, you’ll find that you probably have many of the items left over from your Thanksgiving meal.  For more fabulous ideas on what to do with those leftovers, check out the Leftover Lounge!

How to Feed Your Family For $20 This Thanksgiving *Giveaway*

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winners are Zelma and Cheryl F. Congrats!

My husband and I spent some time today putting the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving menu.  This year will be small and intimate.  I’m getting close to being “done” so we’re not traveling too far away from home this year.  It’s important to me that we have traditional Thanksgiving courses like turkey, stuffing, cranberries and potatoes (which is exactly what we’re having).  

If you have a large family, you know how menu items can add up when shopping for your Thanksgiving meal.  I recently heard that you could purchase the foods necessary to feed a family of eight this Thanksgiving for $20 at Walmart and I had to a. check it out to make sure it was legit and b. share it with all of you!  

So what does this Thanksgiving meal consist of?  (I wanted to know so I figure you do too!)

• One 12-pound Grade A turkey*
• Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
• Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
• Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
• One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
• One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
• One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

Now because I’m always honest with you, I have to say that this is a great deal if you eat any or all of the above items. Personally, I would eat *most* of the items above, but I would prefer whole wheat dinner rolls over white, a salad, and a pumpkin pie over the cake.  My dad’s rice pilaf is also a requirement!  So perhaps my final bill would be a little over $20, but it’s still a fabulous deal.  

I don’t know about you,  but we’re always on the watch for ways we can save, without compromising.  Walmart wants to make sure that you and I have the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving Meal at a price we can all afford.  I particularly appreciate the fact that the foods on the menu are healthy and traditional.  I highly recommend checking out Walmart’s Holiday Meals site for recipe ideas.  Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian offers tasty variations on traditional holiday dishes using ingredients found in Walmart’s Thanksgiving Basket.  The Herb & Garlic-Scented Turkey and Creamy Smashed Potatoes sound delicious!

Win It!  The price is so phenomenal that two of you will win $30 gift cards to Walmart to use for your Thanksgiving Meal (and you’ll have an extra $10 to use as you wish!).  Simply leave me a comment with a tip on how you save time or how you save money on your Thanksgiving Meal (I so enjoy reading your tips, by the way).  Comments will close on December 7, 2009 at 10 PM PST.  

One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

 

 I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Walmart. In addition, I received a Walmart gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate and two to offer as a giveaway.”

Gobble Gobble…Win a Butterball Turkey! *Giveaway*

This very quick giveaway is now closed!  Thank you so much for stopping by.  The winners are Kristie, Jessica M., Amanda S., and Nancy M. Congrats and Happy Thanksgiving!

In one week, we’ll head over to my parent’s house to sit down as a family for a Thanksgiving meal.  This year, we were unable to visit my husband’s family because I’m about to have a baby!  Thanksgiving at each of our respective families’ homes is very different.  My husband’s familial celebration is large and traditionally Southern in all aspects (think green bean casserole and football).  My familial celebration is intimate with foods that are mostly representative of a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Both are casual and involve a lot of discussion and lounging around (I prefer it that way these days).  And in each of our homes, food is abundant.

This year (and every year before for as long as I can remember), we’ll have a turkey from Butterball.  I’ve had many a Butterball turkey in years past.  And this year, my father will do a majority of the cooking (just like he’s always done).  I enjoy a variety of traditional Thanksgiving foods…cranberries…stuffing…rice pilaf…potatoes.  But everyone knows to leave dessert up to me!  While it varies from year to year, pumpkin pie MUST be one of the desserts at our meal.  So, in light of the fact that we’ll be celebrating in one week, I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite pumpkin pie recipes:

Spiced Pumpkin Pie (courtesy of Williams-Sonoma):

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin, 2 1/2 lb.

Pastry for a 9-inch pie

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup half-and-half

Sweetened whipped cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Cut the pumpkin in half through the stem end and place, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Let cool. Scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard. Puree the flesh in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until smooth. Measure out 1 1/2 cups; set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.

On a well-floured work surface, roll out the pastry into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and gently press into the bottom and sides of the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1 1/2-inch overhang, then fold under the overhang and crimp to form an attractive rim. Prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork. Freeze for 10 minutes. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil and continue to bake until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Leave the oven set at 375°F.

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, eggs and half-and-half until well mixed. Pour into the baked pie shell. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve the pie with the whipped cream on the side. Serves 10.

Win It! FOUR of you will win a voucher which you can redeem for a Butterball turkey (10-12 pounds, RV $15).  Simply leave me a comment with either a Thanksgiving recipe or a Thanksgiving memory.  Comments will close on Monday, November 23 at 9 am PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!