Creative ways to use leftover Xmas food

Former_MSE_Joanne · 18 December 2014 at 4:44PM

A recent Great Hunt revealed that many of you buy far too much food for Xmas. We want to tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge on the best ways to avoid wasting that food. Do you have any top recipes for combining the typical Christmas lunch ingredients? What other ways do you make sure everything gets used up?

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Edwardia · 22 December 2014 at 5:18PM

Menu plan so that you buy things which can be used for the meal and then used in leftover recipes.

63 leftover recipes - Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/article/christmas-leftovers.html

The_Last_Username · 22 December 2014 at 8:02PM

Get a dog! :cool:
Ours eats ANYTHING .......... & is very partial to such a wide variety of foods such as (for example) fresh pineapple and tomatoes to fish. :eek:
With the price of dog food, it's as cheap as buying that AND it adds variety to his diet. :rotfl:

madvixen · 22 December 2014 at 9:18PM

Ooooohhhh I love leftovers, they see us through January. I find some brilliant recipes on Pinterest but some of my absolute favourites are:

Tatty Scones (using leftover mash)
Mashed Potato and Veg pancakes served with leftover gammon
Pasta with cheese sauce, stuffing and turkey
Cheeseboard fondue
Pannetonne Bread and Butter Pudding
Plus all the usuals such as stir fry, curries and soups

VfM4meplse · 23 December 2014 at 4:17AM

The_Last_Username wrote: »

With the price of dog food, it's as cheap as buying that AND it adds variety to his diet. :rotfl:

As long as chocolate isn't on that list :eek:

Anyone with their wits about them will have freed up some freezer space for the post-Chrimbo apocalypse of YS goodies.

TravellingAbuela · 23 December 2014 at 7:49AM

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Anyone with their wits about them will have freed up some freezer space for the post-Chrimbo apocalypse of YS goodies.

Every year I await the mounds of over-stocked Stilton getting reduced. That's when I get to work making soup - Broccoli & Stilton, Celery & Stilton and Cauli & Stilton being our favourites. Freeze in portions and it lasts us months. It's even better if these veg are on Aldi Super 6 at the same time!

The_Last_Username · 23 December 2014 at 9:09AM

As long as chocolate isn't on that list :eek:

With 3 ladies in the household over Christmas, the possibility of ANY chocolate being "left-over" is remote to say the least! :rotfl:

Another thing NOT to feed your pooch is raisins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape_and_raisin_toxicity_in_dogs

MUCH worse for them than choccy!
http://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/is-chocolate-bad-for-dogs.html

forzaitalia · 23 December 2014 at 2:02PM

Pies! Everyone loves a pie, so make a tasty pie filling with leftover turkey, stuffing and veg in a white sauce - absolutely delicious.

Pasta bake always good. Again make a white or cheese sauce, mix in cooked pasta, turkey, stuffing and veg and bake for 20 mins. Nice done with cubes of gammon too.

If you have any Xmas cake or pudding left and just can't face it, crumble it outside for the birds. They need high fat food at this time of year and will really appreciate it.

Buon Appetito!

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Dan_Thunder · 23 December 2014 at 4:05PM

There's always the traditional turkey pie and curry but there's a few alternatives as well:

I always make extra veg. When it's cold I chop it all up finely and mix it together with mashed potatoes to make bubble and squeak cakes. They freeze brilliantly and are a lovely meal fried up and then served with a poached egg and some crispy bacon or slices of leftover ham.
If you have any leftover christmas pudding take out some (leftover?) vanilla ice cream and let it soften a bit then mix the ice cream and christmas pudding in a bowl before putting it back into the container and refreezing. Et voila, Christmas pud ice cream!
Pretty much any non-soft cheese will freeze so you can either save it for another day or grate it up into a box and freeze it so you've always got some handy for recipes that require cheese.
Take any leftover ham/turkey and mix it with any leftover veg with some cheese sauce. Put it in an oven dish and top with a savoury crumble mix (oats, butter, flour) and bake for 45 minutes.
Pretty much any leftover veg can be reheated in a pan of stock and then blitzed to make a really nice soup, especially if it's roast veg. Make it either more indulgent by adding a bit of any leftover cream you may have before blending.
I do love a turkey curry but what I always do is make more than we'll eat but put some aside. I'll then take a pack of puff pastry, cut out some circles, put some cold curry in and make turkey curry pasties. I'll then freeze them and then they're ready to take out and cook in the new year for a quick and filling meal.

villanova · 24 December 2014 at 9:41AM

My absolute favourite leftover is slices of xmas pudding, fried in butter then served with ice-cream or cream. Actually, my favourite bit of christmas dinner is the leftovers the next day - bubble & squeak, veg soup, etc.

rich189 · 24 December 2014 at 11:28AM

How long will cooked turkey keep? I'm cooking a joint with a use by date of 26th but presumably the cooked meat will keep a little longer? I'm aiming to put the leftovers in a Balti curry on the 28th.

Creative ways to use leftover Xmas food

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