Turkey Day Leftover Ideas

Welcome to December, everyone!

It is now officially acceptable to transition from pumpkin everything to peppermint and chocolate everything! I cannot wait.

If you are like me, you have quite a bit of turkey, perhaps a few vegetables, and a bit of cranberry sauce leftover. Instead of recreating the same meal you ate on Thanksgiving, maybe you want to consider jazzing up those leftovers with a few of these recipe ideas.

For the cranberry sauce, try these Cranberry Baked Brie Bites. Puff pastry makes everything better, and this tasty snack is like a bite-sized version of baked brie. Genius!

For any leftover peas, carrots, corn, and other vegetables, make a wholesome meal with this Veggie-Packed Fried Rice! Just replace any vegetables in the recipe with what you have on hand. Cut into bite-sized cubes to make sure everything cooks evenly.

For turkey, gravy, and more vegetables, take these Chicken Pot Pockets and create a Turkey Pot Pocket! Replace the chicken with turkey, use your own leftover gravy, and swap frozen veggies for any fresh ones you have on hand.

Finally, if you still have a bit of cooked turkey, try shredding it and cooking up a big pot of this Chicken and Tortellini Soup (replacing chicken with the turkey, of course!) 

Hope you enjoy these twists with your Turkey Day leftovers. Back to the Monday grind. Have a great week, everyone!

Veggie Packed Fried Rice

Do you ever have a brilliant idea, or a perfectly well-thought out plan that goes horribly wrong because of some unforeseen circumstance totally out of your control? That TOTALLY happened to me tonight.

OK, I'm being slightly dramatic. But, I had slightly different intentions for tonight's recipe. I had a vision of remaking a basic Asian-style fried rice and turning it into something more robust by subbing the rice for quinoa. We all know about quinoa. It's very hip right now, considered a great food to add to your diet especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Well, apparently the cat is out of the bag on this one. The mart that I frequent for quick shopping trips on my way home was plum OUT of quinoa. And because it was a work night and there was no way I was making my way to a second store, my plan was foiled.

Yes, the "cat is out of the bag" line is a totally shameless ploy to put a picture of my cat in this post. I'm a winner.

Luckily, I still decided to whip up a batch of this Veggie-packed Fried Rice. It was really delicious and flavorful. It also took no time at all to whip together. This is the perfect side dish to thwart any craving you may have for Chinese take out!

I am totally hooked on edamame right now, so I knew that would make an appearance in this dish. It has great protein content and it's light, delicate flavor loaned itself perfectly to a stir fry.

Along with the edamame, this rice has plenty of shredded carrots, onions, and broccoli. I also added in scallions and cilantro, because I love the way these herbs compliment many Asian flavors.

A fried egg also adds a punch of protein, while a touch of red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce give the rice body, flavor, spice, and saltiness.

The recipe below will serve two as a side dish or light meal. Feel free to double the recipe and toss in some chicken or pork for a great dinner! Will you try this with quinoa? I know I will -- I'll be sure to post again after I have experimented!