Tasty Tailgate Treats With Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy Football Friday All Y’all! First and foremost did y’all save last week’s Thanksgiving Appetizers? Which one did your family enjoy most on turkey and football day? Hope this week’s tasty tailgate treats help use up some of those Thanksgiving leftovers. This is a mix of recipes for all sorts of leftover options. Have a great weekend of family and football games. Enjoy!

Tasty Tailgate Treats With Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving Leftover Tacos

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. leftover cranberry sauce
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
• 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 limes, divided
• 1/2 c. thinly sliced cabbage
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 c. leftover nuts and/or seeds, such as sesame seeds, peanuts, pecans, or spiced nuts
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/4 c. leftover stuffing, finely chopped
• 1 c. leftover gravy
• 1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 1 tbsp. sauce
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c. shredded dark meat turkey
• 10 to 12 warm corn tortillas
• Chopped craisins and lime wedges, for serving

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, whisk cranberry sauce, parsley, mayonnaise, and juice of 1 lime.
2. Add cabbage and toss until coated; season with salt and set aside.
3. In a large, dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast nuts and/or seeds, swirling pan and tossing often, until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
4. Wipe out the pan. Heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add stuffing and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
5. In a blender, blend gravy, chiles, adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, juice of remaining 1/2 lime, and toasted nuts until smooth.
6. Wipe out the skillet. Pour in the sauce and cook over medium heat, add turkey and cook, stirring, until shreds separate and are warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes more.
7. Build tacos by piling tortillas with turkey, reserved slaw, stuffing croutons, craisins, and parsley. Serve with lime wedges alongside.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Bites 

Bacon-wrapped anything is pretty tasty.

Ingredients: 

• 9 strips Bacon
• 3 cups prepared stuffing (either packaged or homemade)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
2. Line the baking tray with aluminum foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Cut slices of Wright Brand Bacon in 1/2.
4. Form stuffing into balls, approximately golf ball size.
5. Place the stuffing ball onto the center of the bacon piece. Wrap bacon around the ball bringing both sides together and securing it with a toothpick.
6. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove the tray when the bacon is fully cooked.
7. Place bites onto paper toweling prior to serving.

Leftover Turkey Salad

This is the easiest of all the leftover recipes. It is perfect for tailgating, whip it up grab some of your favorite slider rolls and you have a tailgate meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups leftover turkey diced
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 2 green onions or red onion, diced
• ¼ cup pecans chopped, optional
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• seasoned salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
• Serve as a sandwich or over salad.

Recipe Notes

Replace pecans with toasted almonds if desired.

Additionally, diced apples or grapes add a nice fresh flavor to this salad.

All The Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 2-3 cups cooked turkey, shredded or cubed
• 1 cup half and half cream
• ½ cup corn, frozen
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• cheddar cheese, shredded (optional, for topping)

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot or 5.5-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and tender and starting to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add flour and mix well until evenly combined with the onion mixture and continue to cook for another minute. Pour in the stock and Italian seasoning and mix well. Bring the mixture to a simmer, for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in mashed potatoes, and stir until all the potatoes have broken up. Let the soup simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Add turkey and half and half cream. Cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in corn and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Bars

I personally am not a huge fan of the cranberry sauce but several writers on our staff are so I picked this recipe for them.  Which do y’all prefer the fresh cranberry sauce or the canned cranberry sauce?

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup cold butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup of your leftover cranberry sauce, room temperature

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325* F
• Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
• Combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times until blended. (if you do not have a food processor, use a hand pastry blender)
• Add the butter and pulse 8-10 times until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas. (Or use your hand pastry blender.)
• Remove 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture and set aside.
• Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan.
• Drop teaspoons of the cranberry sauce evenly over the crust, then spread it gently with the back of the spoon to cover the crust.
• Sprinkle reserved crumbs evenly over the jam layer.
• Bake until the top is lightly browned, 50 – 55 minutes.
• Transfer to a rack and let cool until firm, about 2 hours (or chill until firm).
• Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

On The Menu

We hope you enjoy all the ideas of what to do with ALL THOSE Thanksgiving leftovers. Please let us know which one is your favorite. Enjoy the games this weekend and enjoy the family time. Next week we will tackle more tasty tailgate treats.