If you've finished the Thanksgiving meal and have a bunch of leftovers then you can eat them until you're starting to gobble or you can add them to your food storage. Don't throw them away just because you're tired of them. Preserve them or incorporate them into something else.
First things first, lets tackle that bird and ham. The meat is perfect for dehydrating. Just spread it on the trays and turn the dehydrator on. When done vacuum seal for storage. The bones can be turned into broth. Remove the fat after chilling and can the broths as they are or add some of the meat and vegetables to make soup and can that in your pressure canner.
Save that "lard" that you removed and use it later for making biscuits, savory pie crusts or other tasty baked goods. If you decide to make a savory pie crust then go ahead and make a turkey pot pie with the leftover gravy and vegetables. You can eat it as another meal or make mini pies for freezing, baking and eating later.
Just like the meat, bones, broth and fats can be preserved by dehydrating and canning, the vegetables can be transformed into something else. Even a small amount of corn, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes or beans can be dehydrated and then vacuum sealed and saved for using later. Baked sweet potatoes can be sliced and dehydrated as can any cooked greens, peas or rice. Just remember fats can go rancid if stored for long term so if you added butter or other oils to your vegetables then they will go in your short term food storage.
If you want to you can turn your leftovers into something else entirely and freeze them. Freezing may not be something that is shelf stable for 20 years but its perfectly acceptable for those times when there are short term crises that will be more bearable with a freezer meal that just needs to be thawed and heated. Remember all food storage doesn't have to last to the end of the world. Sometimes its just as important to have meals prepared if someone is too sick or tired to cook from scratch. Even a hospital stay by the main cook in the family or an extended abcense from home due to a family emergency can be hard on the family. Having pot pies or other food in the freezer that can be prepared quickly and easily means that the family still has good home cooked food in those short term personal SHTF situations.
That leftover stuffing or dressing can be turned into a savory bread pudding or casserole and frozen. There are any number of combinations that can be used. Mix the stuffing with the leftover sweet potato casserole. Add some nuts and raisins. Place in a greased casserole dish. Whisk some milk and eggs and pour over the top and bake for a sweet bread pudding. Do it in small loaf pans and freeze some for later.
If you prefer, you can use that stuffing or dressing in the same type bread pudding but add some sausage, turkey, cheese and make It more of a casserole. You can make a shepherds pie with the leftover mashed potatoes then freeze whole or in portions.
The cranberry sauce can be turned into syrup and canned for using on ice cream or pancakes. Or it can be thinned and frozen in ice cube trays for adding to iced drinks. Leave it as is and freeze it in ice cube trays for using in smoothies or stirred into plain yogurt.
The sweet potato casserole is my favorite leftover to recreate. It's perfect for making quickbreads. Doesn't a cranberry, sweet potato bread sound yummy? Or make a dough and make fried or baked sweet potato turnovers. Add it as the liquid in biscuits and make sweet potato biscuits. The same can be done for sweet potato rolls or sweet potato pancakes. Just substitute the leftover casserole for all or part of the liquid and make the pancakes. Don't forget to top them with your cranberry syrup! The pies, turnovers and biscuits or rolls can be frozen before baking then just removed and baked when you want them. Don't forget to let the bread dough rise! The pancakes and quickbreads can be made and then frozen. Remove and thaw before reheating the pancakes and serving.
The stuffing, rice, or mashed potatoes of any kind can be mixed with ingredients of your choice and made into croquettes (patties). Theres a whole post on those already on the blog. They can be cooked and frozen or frozen uncooked on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then packaged for removing a few at a time and baking or pan frying.
So this year when you're looking at that mountain of leftovers don't get food fatigue from eating it every day for a week. Preserve it and add to your food storage for both long and shorter term food storage. Use muffin tins or mini loaf pans to make things into single portions which can be removed and prepared as needed. Sometimes the leftovers are the best part of thanksgiving dinner. Be creative and use them for your long and short term food storage plan.
Southern Wood Elf