We’re at the one-week countdown to Thanksgiving, and I’ve been busy brainstorming some of the dishes I’m bringing to our turkey-day celebration. I’ve already shared my all-time favorite entertaining pieces, and a round up of my must-have kitchen tools for any type of cooking — but especially at the holidays — to help you prep for your own Thanksgiving dinners, and thought it would be a fun idea to round up some of my favorite recipes from past years for inspiration. Below are a few of my favorite appetizers and side dishes for the big day, as well as some holiday cocktail ideas (family time = cocktail time) and two fun ideas for how to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers! 
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One of my favorite nerdy cooking challenges I like to give myself each year is thinking of new ways to use leftovers after the big Turkey-Day feast! Sometimes it feels like those leftovers can last for weeks, and you’re eating turkey sandwiches until you never want to see another turkey again until next Thanksgiving. I made a few of the Thanksgiving classics and experimented with a new idea for leftovers this year: layering them into a Thanksgiving leftover inspired pot-pie! Everything in this recipe can be pulled from your holiday leftovers. Start with some pie dough leftover from your holiday baking, toss in chopped up turkey and keep it juicy with some leftover gravy drizzled on top, and layer it with leftover mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce before baking with another layer of pie crust on top. The result is a slice of Thanksgiving that has just about every key leftover packed into each bite! My husband jokingly suggested that I should call this Pilgrim Pie, a rustic little nod to Thanksgiving’s roots, and I think it fits the dish perfectly! Earmark this one for your turkey-day leftovers next weekend, full recipe below:
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Guys! We’re one week out from my very favorite holiday (because it’s all about food and family, my two favorite things!). Being as food obsessed as I am, I’m already thinking about delicious leftovers. The day after Thanksgiving at my family’s house is usually a continuation of the festivities, we dig into leftovers and friends and family pops in to visit. Of course no one would turn down a post-Thanksgiving leftover turkey sandwich, but I thought I would mix it up this year and try to repurpose some leftover side dishes to make a festive appetizer to enjoy while family is still visiting at the end of the holiday weekend. Leftover mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes got a little dressed up and repurposed as filling for stuffed mushrooms — the taste of Thanksgiving in a bite sized snack! Full recipe below.
Ingredients:
- Mushroom caps
- Leftover mashed potatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- Leftover baked sweet potatoes (1 potato)
- 1 tsp Butter
- 1 tsp Honey
- Leftover stuffing
- Cooked italian sausage
- Salt and pepper
- Parsley (for garnish)
- Green Onions (for garnish)
- Crispy bacon (for garnish)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Clean the mushroom caps and remove stems.
- Using a small spoon or melon-baller, scoop out the inside of the mushroom caps to make room for filling (cup the mushrooms in your hand to keep them from breaking.
- For Mashed Potatoes: fill mushroom caps with leftover potatoes, sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- For Sweet Potatoes: combine sweet potatoes with a drizzle of honey and melted butter; fill caps with mixture.
- For Stuffing: combine leftover stuffing with cooked and chopped italian sausage, fill caps with mixture.
- Arrange filled mushroom caps in a baking dish, salt and pepper to taste, and bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Remove and garnish: add green onions to the top of the mashed potato stuffed mushrooms; chopped crispy bacon to sweet potato stuffed mushrooms, and minced parsley to the top of stuffing filled stuffed mushrooms.
This weekend I was busy testing some recipes for Thanksgiving ideas (and blog posts!) and the best thing ever that can happen when you’re cooking occurred: I had leftover stuffing. My family has a special little trick for leftover stuffing, we use it to make a little breakfast hash. It’s barely a recipe, which is just how breakfast should be made: add a tiny pat of butter to a hot pan and throw in the stuffing and, if you have it, some chopped onions, sausage, bacon — you can’t mess it up! After the mixture cooks together for a few minutes push it the sides to make an opening in the center of the pan. Crack in egg in the center of the stuffing and let it fry up, then slide that whole thing on a plate and dig in! I garnished mine with some fresh chopped green onions, and let me tell you, it was tasty. 
