Photo: marthastewart.com; seededatthetable.com
Thanksgiving is a time for family, fun and lots of food. The only problem is what do you do with all the leftovers? The overwhelming amount of leftover turkey, stuffing, pie and mashed potatoes can be hard to look at without feeling wasteful. So here are two simple, short and helpful recipes to reduce refrigerator clutter and wasted food. Some food-saving Thanksgiving leftover recipes are Turkey and rice Soup, and Pumpkin Ice Cream Cream Sandwiches. The first recipe of Turkey and rice soup can be made all year round using leftover chicken or chicken broth and any vegetables you may have at home, like potatoes or carrots, or barely instead of rice. So it’s very easy to customize it to fit the items you have at home.
Turkey and Rice Soup:
Makes four small bowls:
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 medium leek(white and light-green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise
- ¾ cup celery root, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
- 1 medium parsnip, cut into ¼ -inch cubes
- Salt and pepper
- 4 ½ cups turkey broth
- 1 ½ cups of leftover shredded turkey
- 1 cup cooked rice
Directions:
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.Add leek, celery root, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leek is translucent, or for about 2 minutes.
- Add turkey stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey and rice, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Take off heat and enjoy hot or save it for later.
Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwich:
Makes eight sandwiches:
- 8 sheets of graham cracker, broken in half
- Filling from leftover pumpkin pie
- 4 cups of vanilla ice cream
Directions:
- Scoop out leftover pumpkin pie filling and spread on four graham crackers
- Add half a cup of vanilla ice cream on each graham cracker which pumpkin pie filling. Then place another graham cracker on top.
- Freezer until firm, and enjoy!
By Tylia Lundberg
The Claw 