Here’s How To Use Up Those Christmas Leftovers

So you’ve hosted an amazing Christmas feast and sent your guests home with happy stomachs and great memories. But then, you head to the kitchen and realise that there are leftovers. A lot of them.

This year, we thought we’d save you from having to dine on leftovers for weeks to come. Instead, turn your traditional Christmas dishes into something else – here’s how.

The Stuffed Birds

Whether you had a stuffed turkey, chicken or duck as is tradition for Christmas we can bet there’s a few pieces leftover. Use them to make flavourful sandwiches or shred the meat and put it in noodles, salads or fried rice. Remember to freeze the meat if you’re not going to use it up within the next two days.

Mashed Potatoes

Christmas feasts often feature mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes. You can mix leftover mash with shreds of ham, meat (try the leftover turkey) or vegetables and mould them into patties. Fry them to make unique potato cakes!

Mashed potatoes can also be used to make gnocchi, or Indian kofta curry.

Christmas Ham

A whole roast ham is a delicious traditional addition to any holiday meal. Slice the leftover ham into manageable pieces and use it to make sandwiches, stir it into pasta or make those mashed potato patties we just talked about!

Christmas Cookies

Well, these aren’t too much of a problem – just keep eating them until they’re over! If that seems like a Herculean task, buy some pretty gift boxes and send them out to friends and acquaintances with a ‘Season’s Greetings’ message enclosed.

Plum Pudding

Most plum puddings are infused with alcohol and dried fruits, which means that they’ll keep in a well-sealed container for a couple of months, provided they’re in a cool, dry place.

Mulled Wine

Mulled wine tends to keep for less time than regular wine, because it has been heated and cooled. Use your homemade mulled wine while making beef dishes such as stew, or marinade beef steaks in it for a few hours before grilling or frying. You can also reduce the wine and use it as a tasty glaze for chicken or white fish.

Eggnog

Use that bowl of leftover eggnog in the same way you would use milk and eggs for rench toast or pancakes. You could also cook some oats in the eggnog for a unique spin on porridge. Remember to go easy on the meals if your eggnog is alocholic!