Putting Christmas leftovers to good use feels... nice. It leads to less waste - both food and money-wise.
One of the best things about Christmas time is the food. I'm all about the family-time, Christmas movies and slower-paced living but food is pretty much at the top of my list if I am completely honest. I just love the festive cheese, the chutneys, the fancy crisps and the fact that dessert is always a good idea. I do struggle with the amount of waste that happens though.
Christmas day is a day of food. In our family, we start with a big Christmas breakfast with the extended family. A chance for cousins/aunties/uncles to exchange gifts and admire each other's outfits. We then move on to the obligatory crisps, copious cups of tea and sweets.
In truth, I'm never quite hungry enough for Christmas Dinner, which is totally ridiculous. I tend to enjoy the ham and turkey sandwich that evening way more. There is always tonnes of waste though and I'm really uncomfortable with that when so many people in the world are in need.
It's not going to save the world or profoundly affect anyone's life, but I find that putting Christmas leftovers to good use feels... nice. It leads to less waste - both food and money-wise and that is good enough for me.
Here are some easy (and delicious) ways to use up Christmas food leftovers
Make A Pie
Everyone loves pie. Last year my husband made a pie with all of our leftover turkey. Ready to roll pastry, a jar of creamy sauce (not home-made, zero guilt here!) and a punnet of mushrooms. It was DIVINE.
Soup For The Win
Wouldn't it be lovely to have a big vat of healthy soup to enjoy in January when the treats and rich food has lost their novelty? It's as easy as adding leftover meat, potatoes and vegetables to a pot of stock and seasoning. Blitz, freeze and thank me later.
Festive Pasta Bake
Put your cheese/meat/antipasti leftovers to great use by turning them into a pasta bake. Cured meats, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and cheese are transformed when added to some passata or chopped tomatoes. A one-pot wonder for the whole family to enjoy when turkey and ham have lost their appeal.
Turkey Noodle Soup
We love this idea. Benefit from all of the flavour of the turkey but without the Christmas dinner "vibe". We're planning to try this recipe because it looks really simple.
Thai Turkey Curry
This is a delicious way of using up Christmas leftovers. All you need is some Thai curry paste and a tin of coconut milk. You can use the stock from the turkey (or a regular stock cube) and whatever vegetables you fancy. It will be ready in minutes. Fry a diced onion with some curry paste, add in the vegetables, stock, coconut milk and cooked turkey. You can add some cornflour to thicken if you prefer a thicker consistency.
How do you use your Christmas leftovers?
