Leftover Fatigue

December 4, 2015December 3, 2015 / ktbuchs87

The Leftover Fatigue | Life Healthfully Lived struggle is real you guys. Thanksgiving is the beginning of the major leftover season. And by the time you finally get rid of all of the Thanksgiving leftovers, Christmas comes and you have even more. For some reason, when it comes to holiday meals we think that we have to feed 5,000 people even if there are only 7 or 8. And if there are more than that? Might as well feed a stadium full of people.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love leftovers. I am the queen of leftovers. Leftovers are the only way that my husband gets lunch during the week. Leftovers are the only thing that feeds the both of us when I’m lazy and just want to pull something out of the freezer instead of make an entirely new meal. Leftovers are amazing. Leftover Fatigue | Life Healthfully Lived

But you can get tired of them after awhile. Especially if you’re having a turkey sandwich for the 20th day in a row.

So I thought that I would give you a few ideas of how to use up your leftovers in new and inventive ways. You don’t have to have the same meal over and over again. With these ideas, you can use up all that extra food, save money, cut down on food waste, and never get bored. Leftover Fatigue | Life Healthfully Lived

I don’t have exact recipes for these meals, but I will give you a basic outline so you can be as creative as you want with these. I’m also going to share one of my absolute favorite leftover meals, my mom’s Thanksgiving casserole. I’ve made a few changes to make it slightly healthier, but it is an awesome way to use up a lot of leftovers. The great thing about casseroles is that they are really hard to mess up, and you can pretty much add whatever you have on hand to your meal.

Turkey

Turkey is the main dish, but people usually focus on all the side dishes. Which means you’re left with like 20 lbs of bird and you can only eat so many turkey sandwiches, even if you do love them like Ross Gellar. Leftover Fatigue | Life Healthfully Lived

Here are a few more ideas for your turkey:

Dice it up into cubes or shred it and make turkey noodle soup.
Season turkey shreds with your favorite taco seasoning and make turkey tacos or burritos.
Cut it into long strips and put it on top of your salad.
Make turkey salad following this recipe.
Use cubes or shreds in your breakfast hash. Bonus points if you use leftover sweet potatoes or regular potatoes!
Make the casserole at the end of this post!

Cranberry Sauce

Many people aren’t huge fans of cranberry sauce, it’s just something that has to get made for Thanksgiving. Those people haven’t tried my sauce or my mom’s cranberry relish. Either way, you probably have a good amount leftover. Try some of these ideas out:

This might not be a super novel idea, but use a little cranberry sauce in your turkey sandwich. The nice tart bite really adds another layer to a boring turkey sandwich.
Try adding some cranberry sauce to your morning smoothie or oatmeal.
Use it as a topping for meatloaf or my lentil loaf. You can also add in leftover stuffing and carrots or green beans to make it a Thanksgiving loaf.

Sweet Potatoes/Mashed Potatoes

Many families have multiple potatoes at their feast, so there is usually a few containers full of leftovers. Luckily, you can try these to get a little variety out of your potatoes:

Try making a soup out of your potatoes. For sweet potatoes, puree them with coconut milk and add in onions and garlic for a creamy soup. Or make a chowder with leftover mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, coconut milk, and any other vegetables you have on hand.
If you have sweet potato casserole leftovers and they are on the sweeter side, add them to your smoothie or oatmeal. It adds a nice fall/creamy flavor
Make a Thanksgiving shepherd’s pie. Combine turkey, carrots, celery, onions, some stuffing, and any seasonings you like. Put them into a pie dish and then top with mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. Bake uncovered at 425 for 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown a little.

Bread/Rolls/Stuffing

You probably have a good amount of bread left over and instead of just using them as the base of your turkey sandwich, plan ahead with a few of these ideas:

Let rolls or other bread dry out a little and then pulse them in a blender or food processor to make breadcrumbs.
Cut the bread into cubes and let them dry out and have homemade croutons on hand for salads.
If your bread or rolls are just a little stale, make a french toast casserole. Cut the bread up into cubes. Mix together milk (almond, coconut, or regular), a few eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Put the bread and some leftover cranberries into a casserole dish and pour the milk/egg mixture over everything. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes until the top is slightly brown. Top with whipped cream and maple syrup.

Leftover Turkey Casserole

2 to 3 cups leftover stuffing or 2 packages cornbread stuffing mix
1/2 cup diced onions
1 or 2 cup turkey pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup or try my homemade cream of celery soup
1/2 cup broth or water
optional: cranberries, potatoes (we add my mom’s shredded cheesy potato casserole)

Preheat oven to 350. If you are using packaged stuffing, moisten it with a little oil, broth, and hot water until it is smooth but not overly soupy)
Oil a 9 x 13 casserole dish and line the bottom with the stuffing. Mix together the cream soup and turkey pieces and layer this over the stuffing. Top with potatoes, cranberries, and if you want it a little crispy on top, some bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes until top is nicely browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

So there you have it. A plethora of leftover ideas to keep you sane and well-fed all holiday season, plus a casserole to use up the rest of your Thanksgiving meal.

Oh and as for leftover dessert? Just eat that for breakfast 🙂 Leftover Fatigue | Life Healthfully Lived

What is your favorite way to use up your leftovers?

How To Use Up Your Leftovers

December 3, 2014 / ktbuchs87

It’s almost a week after Thanksgiving and I’m sure some of you still have mounds of leftovers that you’re trying to get through. Thanksgiving leftovers are one of the best parts of the holiday but there are only so many turkey sandwiches you can eat before you never want to see a slice of turkey again. I thought that I would share some different ways that you can use up the various leftovers that you might have lurking around your kitchen.

Turkey/Ham/Whatever other meat you may have made

Obviously you can make a plain old sandwich, but why not jazz it up my making a turkey salad sandwich? Shred up the turkey and mix together with some mashed up avocado, a little lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Or use hummus or spicy mustard instead of avocado, whatever you have a hankering for.
Add shredded meat to any variety of dishes like soup, tacos, frittatas, quesadillas, or casseroles.
Make chili with leftover meat and any other vegetables you may have lying around.

Potatoes

Use leftover mashed potatoes as a topping for shepherds pie or meatloaf. You can even try it as a topping for my lentil loaf
Sweet potatoes can be used in many baked goods from bread to muffins. Just mash them up into a smooth puree and add into the batter.
Roasted potatoes (regular or sweet) make a great breakfast hash or can be added to scrambled eggs, stews, and casseroles.
Scalloped potatoes can be used as a crust for frittatas or quiche.

Stuffing/Dressing

Let some of your stuffing sit out on the counter overnight to dry out a little and you can use it as bread crumbs
Make stuffing dumplings by mixing stuffing together with 2 eggs, turkey, and some shredded cheese if desired. Form into balls and add into soup and cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also bake them in the oven at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes
You can also make a breakfast casserole with stuffing. In a casserole dish, place a layer of stuffing along the bottom. Add in green or red peppers, cooked sausage, or sauteed onions and garlic. In a separate bowl whisk 6 to 8 eggs and a little almond milk and then pour over the stuffing. Top with shredded cheese if you would like and bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit on the counter for 5 minutes before you cut into pieces and eat.

Cranberry Sauce/Relish

Stir cranberry sauce into oatmeal and top with nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans for a seasonal breakfast
Use relish or sauce as a sandwich topping for a nice tart flavor
Make a winter salad by combining cooked quinoa/millet/farro/brown rice, diced sweet potatoes or butternut squash, cranberry relish or sauce, and seasonings like parsley or cilantro. Drizzle a little of olive oil and stir the salad all together.

Vegetables

Leftover vegetables often get put in the fridge and then forgotten. Add them into any dish like stir fry’s, soups, stews, or add into salads.
They are also good on sandwiches or if you’re having a taco night use as fillers for burritos.

These are just a few things that you can do with that pile of food you still have to get through. Get creative and see where you can add in leftovers to all of your meals. You can also freeze some of your leftovers to be used at a later time. This works well with meat and bread like dishes. As for all those desserts that are staring you down? I’m sure your neighbor or the office would enjoy having a treat!

Avocado Chicken Salad

August 29, 2014 / ktbuchs87

A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to a cookout for his grandpa’s birthday. It was great, full of family, friends, and food. Oh was there food. Now let me say that Adam has quite a large family. Nine aunts and uncles, plus their spouses/significant others, plus all their children so there needs to be a lot of food. Along with all the appetizers and side dishes, there was a mountain of chicken. I am not exaggerating. There were three different kinds of wings, grilled chicken, marinaded chicken, smoked chicken, chicken chicken… You get the idea. Long story short, we were sent home with a bag of chicken. After adding chicken to stir frys and frittatas, I wanted to come up with a simple and tasty chicken dish. Because it was uber hot, I went with a chicken salad. It came together quickly and hit the spot on a hot summer night, plus it’s healthy! So if you are loaded down with chicken, give this recipe a try!

Avocado Chicken Salad

2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 large avocado, diced
1 tbsp mustard (I used spicy brown mustard)
1 tbsp tahini (sunflower seed butter would work well too)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
corn kernels/celery, optional (but they add a nice crunch!)

1. Shred your chicken and set aside. In a large bowl, mash up your avocado pieces. You want this to be fairly smooth, so make sure there are no large chunks. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except corn/celery and chicken. Mix together well.

2. Add in chicken and corn/celery and stir to coat everything with the avocado. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. You can serve this right away or let it cool in the fridge.

Pretty easy, right? This goes well over lettuce, in tortilla shells, or on your favorite type of bun. Don’t like chicken? Try it with canned tuna or salmon. Don’t eat meat? Make it with chickpeas or your favorite kind of bean. It’s a pretty easy recipe to adapt to your tastes. It is also a good one to make a big batch of and share at a party or gathering. Enjoy!

How To Repurpose Leftovers

August 20, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I am a big believer in leftovers. I think that they play a big role in eating good, healthy meals all week long, as well as helping keep food costs down. I only cook for two people, but I tend to cook like there are four of us and make extras to have for lunches throughout the week. One thing that I have noticed though is that people tend to get bored of eating the same thing over and over again. If you get bored with having the same food, you might be more likely to switch back to your unhealthy eating habits. Because we don’t want that, I wanted to share just a few ways that you can repurpose your leftovers and make a whole different meal with just a few minor adjustments.

Meats

This might be one of the easiest things to turn into a different meal. Summer time is the perfect time to pull out the grill and BBQ some meat. When you do this, make sure to throw a few extra pieces of whatever you’re making onto the grill. Now you have some extra meat to turn into lunches or dinners for the week.

Shred chicken or pork and make a stir fry by adding it to some vegetables, brown rice, and soy sauce.
Slice up steak or chicken and add to a salad
Use fish to make some simple fish tacos. Just add some salsa or corn, cilantro, and squeeze a little lime juice over everything
Make a chicken salad with shredded chicken, celery, avocado and mustard
Add any kind of meat to a frittata

Vegetables

If you do your meal prep over the weekend, make sure that you cook up some extra vegetables however you like. Grill, roast, or saute them and you can use them for meals throughout the week. Summer time also means the garden is full and your farmers market is in full swing, so you might be loaded up with extra vegetables. Here are some ways you can repurpose your vegetables for leftovers.

Roasted root vegetables, like sweet potatoes or parsnips, can be added to salads or cooked grains for a simple lunch
Root vegetables are also really good pureed into soup or a sauce for pasta. Add almond milk (or whatever milk you like) for an extra creamy texture
Grilled eggplant can be made into a simple baba ganush
Grilled zucchini or summer squash can be added to tomato sauce for extra texture and flavor
Cooked vegetables can be added to stir frys, soups, frittatas, or sandwiches
If you have an overabundance of cooked vegetables, you can also freeze them to be used later

Grains

Grains are a great thing to cook in big batches and then just add to meals throughout the week.

Grains make a really good bed for stir fry, vegetables with sauce, or cooked meat
Add your favorite grain to a leafy salad for a new variation
Leftover pasta? Use it up by making cold pasta salad. Toss your favorite pasta with some olive oil, seasonings, and vegetables like cherry tomatoes or avocados for a delicious summer meal
Try adding cooked grains to your lettuce wrap for extra texture and oomph

Fruit

Fruit is also pretty abundant this time of year and you can make it into a few different meals throughout the week.

Use leftover fruit salad as a cereal, granola, or yogurt topper for breakfast
Freeze leftover fruit and use in smoothies or added to water for extra flavor
Make a quick toast topping by mashing up leftover berries and adding a little honey/cinnamon
Turn frozen leftover fruit into sorbets by blending them in a high powered blender or food processor

There are a ton of ways that you can vary your leftovers so that you don’t eat the exact same meal every single day of the week. With just a little bit of prep work, you can have the makings of a healthy and new meal each day. Get creative and see what you can make out of the meals in your fridge!

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