Other than spending time with family and friends, the next best part of holidays has to be the food you share with them! After spending hours cooking your Thanksgiving dinner or maybe taking home too many leftovers, it’s usually a given that your fridge will be full of food left from the celebration. No one wants to let all this food go to waste or eat Turkey sandwiches for a week! Use fresh greenhouse grown vegetables and get creative with some fresh & healthy ideas to make the most of your holiday leftovers!
After spending hours preparing a special meal to share with your family for Thanksgiving, the last thing you want to do is have any of it go to waste. We’ve put together some fun and healthy ways to transform that remaining food into something a little more exciting, yet delicious for your family to enjoy the week after the holiday. Ensuring you have fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, on hand, you can rely on their consistent flavor to help add a fresh spin to your leftovers. Plus they are available all year round so no matter the holiday or the season, you can transform any leftovers into a complete meal. These ideas will help you stretch your grocery budget a little further, squeeze in some extra greenhouse grown vegetables after a holiday of overindulging, & not be stuck eating the same thing for a week!
TURN LEFTOVERS INTO A SOUP –
With a chill in the air and plenty of extra ingredients, there really is nothing more perfect to make with your leftovers than a soup or stew! Soups are great not only because of the large portions they yield but also the versatility to use whatever ingredients you have on hand! Whether you have tons of extra vegetables or proteins left over, there really is nothing that can’t be put into a delicious soup! This Vegetable Stew with Cherry Tomatoes On-The-Vine uses tons of ingredients you probably have on hand from the holiday and turns them into a hearty family stew. Though this exact recipe calls for RedRoyals®, you can use your favorite Pure Flavor® greenhouse grown tomatoes. Just add them to leftover protein and other vegetables that you have on hand after the holidays, and top with fresh herbs to easily make this meal your own. Plus, you can make it directly in an Instant Pot which means fewer dishes, which are probably the last thing you want to do after a big holiday dinner. If you’re looking for an easy meal to reimagine the foods you already have in your kitchen, give a soup or stew a try!
CREATE A CHARCUTERIE BOARD-
Charcuterie or grazing boards are a great after-school or game-day snack that easily use up lots of your thanksgiving leftovers! It’s really as simple as getting creative by arranging multiple different vegetables, pieces of bread, characters, cheeses, meats, and dips on a serving platter and setting it out! If you’re looking for some inspiration you can try arranging different types of Snacking Tomatoes like Sangria® Medley Tomatoes, or Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes to give the board some beautiful colors and flavor. Next, arrange some Uno Bites™ Nano Cucumbers for some crunch – they are the perfect size to dip with! Use your leftover rolls from dinner for a bread option, leftover turkey or other meats for your protein, and whatever cheese you have on hand. If you really want to make the most out of your Thanksgiving leftovers try using any remaining cranberry sauce as a spread for your bread. It’s that easy! When making a snack board you can really customize it to the tastes of your family or friends in order to make sure there is something everyone enjoys, while using what you already have on hand.
TRY SOME FRESH RECIPES –
If you’re really looking to make the most out of your leftovers and want some fresh ideas, you can always try something a little different. There are plenty of unique recipe ideas that can utilize the extra turkey, potatoes, or vegetables you might have. These Sweet Pepper Enchiladas using Craft House Collection® Aurora Long Sweet Peppers are perfect to use up tons of turkey leftovers in a delicious, brand new way! If you’re looking for a breakfast option, try a skillet or hash with your leftover potatoes and peppers! Top with a poached egg, this Bell Pepper and Red Potato Hash is a great way to make the most of your Thanksgiving potatoes and easily feeds a crowd if you have overnight guests.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LEFTOVERS –
There are so many different ways to utilize the food you have leftover from your Thanksgiving gatherings that can be just as good as the original dishes! When you are grocery shopping pre-holiday ensure to pick up some greenhouse grown staples so that you always have them on hand. Make the most of what you have left over from the holidays by reinventing them into new, fresh ideas your family won’t get sick of for the days following. Simply by adding some fresh vegetables to your leftovers, you can easily transform what’s in the fridge into something new on the plate! If you’re unsure what to do with certain ingredients, get inspired here and explore more fresh recipe ideas. Taking advantage of Thanksgiving leftovers really is a win, win. You extend your grocery budget by having meals ready for a week and you get to enjoy healthy dishes with little effort.
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