If your family is anything like mine, you’ll have a TON of food leftover from Thanksgiving because you went overboard just to make sure you have enough food. (We always have enough.) 
Here are some great things you can do with leftovers. I often see amazing recipes for leftover Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc. but they require so much work – and who wants to spend all day in the kitchen after preparing a Thanksgiving dinner? Not me! I’d rather be drinking and watching movies, or getting ready to line up somewhere at 5 AM to cash in on the Black Friday craziness. So, here are some easy recipes that will give you something to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers. 

This spicy panini is just like my favorite turkey sandwich I used to have while I was in law school. The Pace cafeteria surprisingly made some amazing sandwiches, and my favorite was turkey breast on multigrain bread with bacon, cheddar or pepperjack cheese, and spicy chipotle mayo. Here is my recipe for the recreation:

  

FAIRYTALE SPICY TURKEY PANINIS
(Serves 4)



Ingredients:
2 cups leftover turkey breast
4 slices of pepperjack (or cheddar) cheese
8 slices of center cut turkey bacon
8 slices of thick multigrain bread
Chipotle Mayo

Chipotle Mayo Ingredients:
1 cup of reduced fat olive oil
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce
Lime or lemon wedge

Directions:
First, make the chipotle mayo. Blend 1 cup of mayonaise with two chipotle peppers and a teaspoon of adobo sauce. Squirt some lime juice and stir. This sauce is also delicious on burgers or with seafood like crab cakes.

Next, spray a panini machine with PAM non-stick cooking spray. Spray two slices of bread with the spray. Spread some chipotle mayo on a slice of bread. Layer with bacon, spinach, turkey and pepperjack cheese. Cook in panini press until golden brown and crispy. Enjoy!

 Variation: If you don’t like spicy food (or your stomach still hasn’t recovered from Thanksgiving), try substituting a handful of fresh basil for the chipotle peppers when making the sauce and mozzarella cheese for the pepperjack.

FAIRYTALE TURKEY POT PIES
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 cups of shredded turkey breast
3 peeled and sliced carrots
2 stalks of sliced celery
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of frozen pearl onions
1 cup of frozen corn
2 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
4 cups of chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Paprika

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the pearl onions and corn in for the last minute. Add parsley and dill. Stir in the flour and mix to coat all the vegetables. Add the chicken broth and whisk to make sure it is all blended. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer and stir until it reduces and thickens. (Note: because this is a slimmed down recipe, don’t expect the mixture to be THAT thick.)

Lay out 4 sheets of phyllo dough and spray with nonstick cooking spray to flavor. Cut into 4 pieces to fill the tops of the ramekins. Fill four ramekins with the mixture. Top with the phyllo dough. Sprinkle paprika on the phyllo dough. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

These pot pies are also great leftover. Just heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. The phyllo dough will remain crispy!

Alternative: Instead of using phyllo dough, you can use Pillsbury Pie Crusts.



Enjoy!