I love this time of the year because it’s such a festive and whimsical time. Regardless of how many times you’ve listened to carols and Christmas songs, they always bring back a sense of comfort at this time of the year.

It’s also the time of the year when we gather around colleagues, friends and family to rejoice and commiserate about the past year over a good meal!

With all this food preparation there’s bound to be some leftovers in your fridge.

I personally love leftovers because they are the best insurance that I will always have a home-cooked meal on hand for those days when it’s just too hectic to think of what I’m going to eat in advance.

I think that even if you don’t usually favor leftovers, most people are delighted to eat leftover turkey dishes! Since it takes so long to prepare and cook a turkey, why not make the most of your turkey leftovers?

There’s a lot you can do with your turkey leftovers and perhaps if you start getting creative you might actually want to keep up with turning your leftovers into recipes that are perfect for lunch or a second dinner meal!

If you’ve run out of ideas for your turkey leftovers, here are a few suggestions that are tasty, delicious and creative!

  • Turkey pot pie
    Why not take your favorite chicken pot pie recipe and replace the chicken with turkey? I recently had the pleasure of being on a podcast show with Chef Alex Hitz of The Beverly Hills Kitchen and I had the pleasure of testing his chicken pot pie recipe. During the podcast, Chef Hitz welcomed the idea of replacing the chicken in his recipe with turkey and he does it himself at his Beverly Hills restaurant. Here’s Chef Hitz’s recipe if you want to try it out with turkey: Chef Alex Hitz’s of The Beverly Hills Kitchen Chicken Pot Pie recipe.

  • Barbecue Pulled-Turkey Sandwich
    You’ve surely heard of the pulled-chicken and pulled-pork recipes, but why not use you leftover turkey for a pulled turkey recipe? This is a great way to prepare a homemade meal in a flash. I’ve found a great recipe that will help you turn your leftovers into a delicious sandwich: Barbecue Pulled-Turkey Sandwich

  • Give your turkey leftovers a Spanish flair
    You’ve heard of the Spanish paella? This is Spain’s national dish. There are a few different variations, but some of the basic ingredients are rice, saffron, seafood, chicken, tomatoes, peppers, sausage and green peas. What a brilliant idea to swap the chicken for your leftover turkey! I’ve found a spicy turkey paella recipe that is not only ideal as a dinner recipe, but you will surely be able to easily bring the leftovers to work the next day!

  • Shredded turkey Bolognese?
    When I saw the title of this recipe, I thought I had misread it. I’ve made turkey Bolognese before, but I’ve always use ground turkey. I’ve never even considered using shredded cooked turkey! I have to say that Giada De Laurentiis has really created a delicious turkey Bolognese recipe that will help you use up some of the dark meat turkey leftover sitting in your fridge. I’m sure this will become a favorite: Giada De Laurentiis’ Turkey Bolognese recipe.

  • Turkey salad!
    Leftover turkey tops salads quite nicely. You can really make a very simple salad with your favorite greens and vegetables and top it up with leftover turkey or you can create a more elaborate recipe that is full of flavor and color. I found a delicious salad from Eating Well that will be ideal for dinner and also as a lunch for you to bring to work: the Warm Winter Salad.

What do you do with your left over turkey?

Written on 12/25/2009 by Krizia. Krizia (aka MissK) is an international author of an acclaimed food guide. Krizia’s approach to healthy eating is about keeping it simple, approachable and REAL! In June 2009, two months after launching Eat Smart Age Smart, Krizia was awarded with the nomination of ‘Top 200 Health Blogger’ in the Healthy Eating category by Well Sphere.Photo Credit: r_gnuce