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Now what?

It doesn't look like this anymore so now what...
 
 
Thanksgiving is over and we've been to the Black Friday sales. Kids are hollerin' that they do NOT want leftover turkey or turkey sandwiches so now what?
Can't waste good food, not when we've just spent next week's grocery money on the Black Friday sales. But the kids and husband don't like the dark meat so now what?
Shake out your super mom cape and put it on...here's my best easy to throw together Now What recipes for the day after Thanksgiving. The family won't even know they're eating leftovers and you'll have enough energy left to make it to one final sale before the five o'clock deadline!

Leftover Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed leftover cinnamon rolls (NOTE: If you didn't have homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, then 3 cups of leftover dinner rolls or white bread can be used but increase sugar to 2 cups)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans
SAUCE:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup of milk or half and half
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, and pecans.
Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.
For the sauce:
Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is melted. Thicken with 3 T. flour in 1/4 cup of milk, stirred until smooth. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.

 
Hot Turkey Salad
2 c. chopped turkey (and it can be the dark meat)
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. mayonnaise
2 T. lemon juice           
2 T. chopped onions
½ t. salt
½ c. almond (or if you live in the south, chopped pecans)
½ to ¾ c. of crushed potato chips
Combine all the ingredients except the chips and put into a baking dish. Top with chips and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
(NOTE: if it's got potato chips then it's got to be good, right?)
 
Cold Turkey Salad
2 cups diced cooked turkey
2 cups diced apples
½ cup walnuts (or pecans)
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup mayonnaise
4 T. honey
3 T. Dijon mustard
Mix all together and serve chilled over lettuce leaves. Or it can be served as sandwiches if you can convince the family that it is really deli food!
 
Cold Turkey Salad
3 cups diced turkey
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ cup diced celery
2 T. finely chopped red onion
½ cup diced apple
¼ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts or almonds)
6 T. mayonnaise
2 t. lemon juice
¼ t. salt
dash of black pepper
Mix all together and serve over lettuce leaves or in a hollowed out tomato. Or again it can be served as a sandwich stuffing but make the family think it is something really special!

And just for fun, I tried this yesterday. The grandkids loved it and it helped get them all sugared up before I sent them home with their mommas!

Snicker Salad 
1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup of milk
Mix well and add a container of Cool-Whip
Add three apples, peeled and diced
and about 10 miniature Snicker bars cut into small pieces
Chill for at least thirty minutes! (I was the best Nene in Oklahoma when I brought that out for dinner)
 
They'll think you slaved for hours, and on the day after Thanksgiving! Now put your cape back in the closet and hurry on out the door to that next Black Friday sale...then come on home, prop your feet up and read one of the newest Sourcebooks romances. Speaking of which Just a Cowboy and His Baby comes out in two weeks and there is a fun Thanksgiving scene in it when Trace Coleman meets Gemma's family for the first time! I'll give away an ARC of that book today to someone who leaves a comment on this site...drawing to be held tonight and in the spirit of being grateful to ALL my readers, it's not limited to the US and Canada. Whoever Mr. Random pulls from the boot gets a book whether they live next door to me or half way around the world!
 
 

Comments

  1. If you're using leftover bread or rolls instead of cinnamon rolls, add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the recipe to get that cinnamon roll flavor. By the way, cinnamon raisin bagels make excellent fodder for bread pudding.

    vlettel @ cox.net

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  2. Good morning, Virginia! Excellent advice.

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  3. Turkey soup is great for cold days. It's 15 degrees here! I think I just entered the Ice Age! :)

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  4. Turkey soup is my leftover of choice, but this all looks good! Thanks Carolyn!

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  5. Good morning, Terry. Yes, yes, yes, turkey soup...is that cold front coming north? If it hits us we might even think about turkey chili!

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  6. Cheryl, I packed most of the leftovers off with the kids...now I wish I'd saved more of the turkey broth and turkey to make soup.

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  7. Turkey chili sounds good. The cold front will probably hit you. My daughter says it's been 80 in Houston.

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  8. Thanksgiving is my favorite because of all of the good food! So I love all the leftovers :) especially some pumpkin pie!!




    Teresa.bautista@me.com

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  9. Happy day after Thanksgiving, Theresa,
    Ah, yes, pumpkin pie and coffee for breakfast the day after...it don't get much better than that!

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  10. Turkey soup inevitably gets made at our house, usually within a few days of Thanksgiving.

    Another possibility is turkey pot pie, if you also have leftover gravy and veggies to toss in with the meat.

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  11. Pamela, thank you! I'm on my way to call my daughter right now. I sent her home with all the leftover vegetables and I bet she has plenty to do a pot pie for her BIG family (six kids)!

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  12. All of these sounds just great.. I love left over Turkey... I don't have the big family dinners anymore, but I do love turkey, so I usually always get some Turkey thighs or legs and cook them up just for me..
    I am not a white turkey eater, I love the dark meat.
    Enjoy the left overs..

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  13. Send that dark meat MY way! ;-)

    Mark and I love turkey leftovers. We freeze a good portion of the leftovers to use in soups, stews and turkey pot pies throughout the winter.

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  14. Kathleen, we had a BIG crowd yesterday but still there was lots of leftovers for all those salads and soups. Sometimes my family likes the days after as well as the day of!

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  15. Hi Tamara,
    Next year the kids might not take quite a much home since you mentioned freezing it! Now why didn't I think of that?

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  16. Thanks for this! :) Always wondering what to do with all the left overs before they end up going to the chickens. :) Happy Weekend and enjoy the rest of November!

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  17. Great recipes, I'm going to have to try them. :D I do not participate in Black Friday at all. I don't care how much money I could save, no amount is worth dealing with that madness. There's nothing I need to buy that badly, and I don't really have that much holiday shopping to do, luckily.

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  18. Hello, Risurocket, you are so so welcome. Thank YOU for stopping by today. Hope the chickens don't get too upset when they lose out on the leftovers. LOL

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  19. Hi Barbara,
    My sister and I used to always do the Black Friday thing. Nowadays I like the shop-from-my-chair thing!

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  20. The best part about celebrations for me are the leftovers. Sometimes I'm full but when I get a craving I can depend on the leftovers. I'm a fan of the stuffing which I can still enjoy all on its own. Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)

    Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  21. Na,
    It sure helps extend the day for more good eating, doesn't it? Thank you so much for stopping by today!

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  22. Congrats! Thanks for the recipes.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  23. Hello bn100,
    Glad you stopped by today! And you are so welcome to the recipes. Hope they use up a bunch of your leftovers.

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  24. Thank you, Shana!
    We like all of the recipes, but the new big thing for the grandkids was the Snicker salad! I figure if it's got apples in it then it must be healthy. LOL

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  25. Mmmmmm, you make leftovers sound good! My new favorite app is from the food network. So many fabulous recipes, so little time! If the recipe has the word "salad" in it does it make it healthy? I sure hope so! Still got some snickers left over from Halloween. I've got to try it!

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  26. Recipes found great! i'll have to try them out. thanks for the giveaway.

    mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

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  27. Hi Amanda,
    What a wonderful way to use up the Snickers and remember if it has fruit then it has no calories or fat grams. LOL

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  28. Hey Martha,
    Glad you stopped by. Enjoy the What Now recipes!

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  29. Mr. Random just drew a name from the boot and Virginia E is the winner of a signed ARC of Just a Cowboy and His Baby! Congratulations and Happy Reading!

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