Leftover Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
PIN IT!Hello, friends! Happy day after Thanksgiving to you! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Mine was great! We went to my bff’s (19 years and counting) for a Friendsgiving hosted at her house. The food was amazing and the company was even better. This was the first year that E and I didn’t travel (long and far) for the holiday so it was definitely nice to come home to our bed and sleep!
Now, are you fed up of turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans yet? NO?! Well, I have the perfect recipe for you then! Leftover turkey stuffed sweet potatoes with cranberry sauce.
It’s yesterday’s meal stuffed into a potato. Guys, before you write me off, just try it. Something magical happens when all of those flavors combine. The tartness of the cranberry is a perfect compliment to the mellow flavors of the turkey and sweet potatoes. With each bite you get the best of each world, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted turkey and tart berries. It’s a harmony of the holidays stuffed into one perfect little capsule.
A few of these will easily clear your fridge of Thanksgiving leftovers! In addition to being delicious (and hearty, perfect to hold you over while you fight off soccer moms in Target), this meal is good for you too! Turkey is loaded with protein, cranberries are loaded with disease fighting antioxidants and the sweet potatoes are high in fiber so you’ll stay fuller longer! Because really, who wants to stop shopping to eat at the disgusting, over-priced mall food court anyway?
CLICK HERE FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Nutritional information per potato:
Calories: 300
Fat: 12 grams
Carbohydrates: 36 grams
Fiber: 7.5 grams
Protein: 12 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7
Claire
Tags:healthy recipes, leftover recipes, low fat recipes, thanksgiving recipes, turkey recipes
Maple Walnut Mason Jar Pie & Captain Morgan
Happy Thanksgiving Eve, my friends! Hopefully you have your pantry stuffed, your elastic pants ready and your turkey defrosting! I made one last pre-holiday run to the store this morning and, even at 7:30 am, it was nuts. An older woman was even cussing out the cashier because she wasn’t “moving fast enough.” I mean, at what point in your life do you find it okay to talk to people like that? Your stack of store bought pies aren’t going to go bad, lady. Now, along the lines of pies, I have the perfect one for you, it’s unique, it’s delicious, it’s completely indulgent (high-fat and calories) and it’s cute to boot! Meet the lovely maple walnut mason jar pie!
She’s cute isn’t she? All dolled up in that little jar. However, she isn’t healthy or low-fat, sorry guys. Now, before I spend the next few paragraphs rambling on why you should make this, I have to first share some rather exciting news. I, along with some other fabulous bloggers, am participating in Captain Morgan‘s Spice up the Holiday Contest! The challenge is to create three unique recipes using Captain Morgan rum, all of which will be judged by SPIKE MENDELSOHN. Aka, the best Top Chef contestant ever and my favorite local DC chef. So, to get us ready, they sent us a lovely prize package of three bottles of rum and a gift card!
The secret to my success will not lie in my recipes, it will lie in hiding this loot from my husband so I have enough rum to bake with. I left for Scotland with 1/2 a bottle of spiced rum and came home to a shot. In all reality, I’m super excited for this because it means I get to really think outside of the box and have some fun baking with rum. Plus, if I win, they donate $1,000 to my charity of choice! Perfect to get me into the giving season of the holidays! Now, this mason jar pie isn’t going to be one of my entries, but it just so happens to be made with Captain Morgan!
They sent me a bottle about a month ago for my She Knows holiday pies and I’m just so happy with how it complimented this particular pie. The maple syrup is so sweet so the spiciness of the rum really mellows it out. Plus, the addition of walnuts give this a nutty, earthy and crunchy taste and texture too. It’s like a pecan pie, but so much cooler, wouldn’t you say?
This is the perfect pie recipe to make if you have a smaller family or are cooking your holiday meal for two (it feeds two people perfectly). Now, I wouldn’t advise making mason jar pies if you have a family of say, 16 or so, because that would leave you in the kitchen for far too long. Or, if you want, just forgo the jar and make this into one huge pie for your family to devour.
Either way, win win. Trust. CLICK HERE FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE!!
To follow along with the contest (and give me some good juju), be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the hashtag #CaptainHolidays. 🙂
Nutritional information per serving (1/2 jar):
Calories: 550
Fat: 24 grams
Carbohydrates: 54 grams
Fiber: 5 grams
Protein: 9.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 14
Brussel Sprout & Chicken Sausage Soup
Brussel sprouts, you either love them or hate them so much you want to send them into a burning pit to never be found again. Clearly, I’m a fan. And now, after I tasted this amazing brussel sprout & chicken sausage soup, I’m going to be on team BS forever.
They are not only the cutest vegetable ever (a little baby cabbage, COME ON!) they taste absolutely amazing too! I’ve always loved them, since the days of my youth when I would ask the cafeteria lady for an extra scoop, sans the cheez whiz, while the other children watched in horror, their mouths agape. I was a bit of a freak, if you will. And clearly not much has changed because I had a bowl of this brussel sprout soup for breakfast with my mocha.
My favorite part of this soup is how VEGGIETASTIC it is. It’s literally filled to the brim with fiber rich, good for you veggies. I can’t even stand how good this soup is for your bodies, friends. Especially after you binge eat on mashed potatoes and heavy cream. This soup will set you back to your pre-Thanksgiving weight and will probably cure any ailment you have plaguing you.
Broken foot? Have this soup. Cough? Have this soup. Missing an eyeball? Have this soup. Honestly, you’ll feel like a BRAND new person after one hearty bowl. And it’s not only full of awesome things like fiber, protein and antioxidants, it’s delicious to boot! It’s warm and cozy and is the perfect healthy winter meal. Plus, you can add in leftover turkey in place of chicken sausage for a more leftovery type meal. See, I’m protesting the turkey and the thought of it makes me itchy, so I’ve moved on to other meats.
Oh, and this is made a crock pot! Healthy and easy, FOR THE WIN.
Brussel Sprout and Chicken Sausage Soup
Serves about 6 (2/3 cup servings).
Prep time: >5 minutes
Cook time: 3 1/2 – 4 hours
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of brussel sprouts, quartered
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup sliced chickens sausage
- 1/2 cup sliced rotisserie chicken
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Place the vegetables, chicken and chicken sausage and bay leaf into the basin of a crock pot. Pour broth over the mixture and add crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.
- Set crock pot on medium and cook for 3 1/2 hours, stirring every hour. Reduce heat to low and cook an additional hour, or until all vegetables are soft. Serve immediately with crusty bread or dinner rolls!
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 178.5
Fat: 8. 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 9 grams
Fiber: 8.1 grams
Protein: 18. 3 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 4
Boozy Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
Remember to enter to win a Keurig Special Edition coffee make here!!
Welp, it’s officially Thanksgiving week! Who is ready for it on Thursday? Who still has to go shopping? Who wants to crawl into a fetal position and weep because they haven’t even thought of a menu? Or, who like me is ready for Christmas? Whatever your thoughts or feelings about Thursday, well, it’s comin’. To get you all just a teensy bit closer to your perfect turkey day, I’ve made you the perfect side; boozy pomegranate cranberry sauce. Your cocktail and side, all in one!
Pomegranates and cranberries are the official berries of the holiday season and I LOVE that. I think of these as sort of naughty berries because of how tart they are. With each sip or bite, you get a slight tart punch in the face. Nothing aggressive or unpalatable, just the smallest bite from the berry. And I love that! I mean, who doesn’t want to eat fruit that’s just a little naughty?
I’ve seen oodles of boozy cranberry sauce recipes out there in the Internet world lately. Sauces with bourbon, rum and even a little vodka. So, to differentiate myself (read: my husband drank all the rum), I added tequila. But not just any ol’ tequila, pomegranate infused tequila! I simply added a swig to the pot while ye berries were poppin and guys, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Because most of the alcohol cooks out, you’re just left with the tart pomegranate flavor and a hint of tequila. Oh my lord this sauce is incredible.
And, if boozy + tequila + pomegranate wasn’t enough to get your blood pumping this Monday morning, then golly gee, I don’t know what is. Not only will this wow the socks off your in-laws and nit-picky relatives, it’ll also get them off the topic of “when are you going to have a baby,” because they’ll be too busy oohing and ahhing over your culinary abilities.
Boozy Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 7 – 8.
Prep time: >5 minutes
Cook time: About 3 hours
Ingredients:
- 12 ounce bag of cranberries
- 1 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup pomegranate infused tequila
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
- Bring the water, juice, sugar, honey and tequila to a rapid boil. Add cranberries and cinnamon and reduce heat to low, simmering for about 15 minutes, or until all of the berries have popped.
- Pour into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve (this will also thicken the sauce a bit as well).
Nutritional information per serving (about 3 – 4 tablespoons):
Calories: 145
Fat: 0 grams
Carbohydrates: 24 grams
Fiber: >1 gram
Protein: 0 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 3
Lighter Turkey Sheperds Pie for #SundaySuppers
I have to be honest with you guys. If I see one more piece of turkey, I’m going to gag. Seriously. I am SO SICK OF IT. Luckily, this recipe for a lighter turkey sheperds pie used up the last bit I had left so I don’t have to deal with it again until Thursday. You know you’re a food blogger and writer when you’re already posting leftover recipe BEFORE IT’S EVEN THANKSGIVING. Even though I’m tired of Thanksgiving food, I actually loved this dish.
Shepherds pie is the definition of comfort food. I mean, mashed potatoes, meat and vegetables, all in one cozy little dish. This is a man’s meal, a stick to your bones after a long day in the lumber yard kinda dinner. However, since neither me or my husband do anything at all tough or manly, I decided to vastly ligthen this up. I have enough meat on my bones, if you know what I’m sayin’. I used just a wee bit of butter and cream in my taters and only used a dab of oil to cook the veggies. But don’t worry, this dish is still PLENTY hearty.
The magical thing about this turkey sheperds pie is that you can legitimately use ONLY leftovers for it. You don’t have to cook a thing if you don’t want to! If you have leftover mashed potatoes (can be sweet if you have them), leftover cooked vegetables and leftover turkey, you have this meal. If you’re the primary cook on Thanksgiving, I bet the last thing you want to do the day after Thanksgiving is cook again, am I right?
I was so excited leftover recipes was the challenge for this week’s #sundaysuppers because I have a fridge full of them. AND GUESS WHAT? I have NOTHING related to Thanksgiving left in my house! I could practically KISS my fridge I’m so happy. I’m hoping to do a t-day detox in preparation for Thanksgiving so I don’t ruin the magic for my best friend as I politely turn away any sort of Thanksgiving food. She’s cooking the meal herself this year, so I have to show her some love. Plus, she’s an amazing cook so I want to be able to love her food (which will be delicious!)
So whether you are over Thanksgiving or just getting started, bookmark this for black Friday. I mean, you need some strength, protein and heart to politely (read punch, kick and push) crazed people away from that J.Crew cashmere cardigan on sale for 75% off.
Lighter Turkey Sheperd’s Pie
Serves 4. Recipe slightly adapted by Food Network.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups leftover turkey, shredded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups mixed vegetables (I used carrots and celery)
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (I used this recipe, with russet potatoes)
- 4 tablespoons shredded cheese (I used Tillamook cracked pepper cheddar)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots and celery; reduce heat to medium and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 – 6 minutes. Add in turkey and chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid reduces.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove vegetables from heat and scoop evenly into 4 lightly greased ramekins. Top the mixture with mashed potatoes and 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese has melted and inside is bubbly.
Nutritional information per pie:
Calories: 261.25
Fat: 11 grams
Carbohydrates: 13.75 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 25.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 6
Be sure to check out these other fabulous leftover recipes from the group!
