Thanksgiving 2014 in the books. . . now what?

Well, put another Thanksgiving on the scoreboard;  Skinners - 1, Turkeys - 0.  As is tradition around this household, there was a marginally absurd amount of food created for our family, and there are tons of leftovers in the refrigerator (with the exception of the pumpkin pie - somehow that disappeared).

Our family members have always been big fans of the turkey sandwich as the preferred way to burn through the bags and tupperware containers full of still-warm stuffing, potatoes, and turkey.  As a rule, though, I found that we were throwing away a good portion of potatoes and stuffing over the past couple of years, and I wanted to see if there was a way to include the side dishes in the post-holiday feeding frenzy.

With this in mind, I tried something last year and thought it would be fun to share it with you all.  We have an Irish background, and since shepherd's pie is one of my favorite ways to enjoy a cornucopia of flavors all at the same time, I wanted to share my favorite Thanksgiving leftover solution with you all.

What you need:

• An oven-safe container (I used some 10 oz. stoneware containers, but feel free to use whatever container you wish - just make sure it is rated for at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit!).

• Your leftovers (Mashed potatoes are a must for the top crust, but you can feel free to improvise with the fixings you use).

Step 1: 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and gather your oven-safe containers and ingredients.  I would also suggest lining a cookie sheet with aluminum foil to keep possible drips off of the bottom of your oven.

Step 2: 

Spray some non-stick oil onto the inside of your containers and start layering your masterpiece!  I started with a bread stuffing as a "crust" for these.

Then I moved onto the turkey.  Make sure you shred or chop the turkey into smaller pieces to keep the bites smaller.

I gave the leftover gravy the next seat of honor.  It pulls the whole situation together, after all, and it gives you a great medium to include any extra vegetables you want (feel free to toss those extra carrots, beans, frozen peas, corn, etc.) to pump up the flavor!  Just remember to get the gravy all of the way into every nook and cranny you can to save room for the next layer. . .

The mashed potatoes are the next step, and my suggestion is to spread the potatoes all the way to the edges to keep the insides from burning during cooking.  To keep the pies from building up too much pressure and blowing up all over your oven, just poke a few holes through the top layer with a fork.

















Step 3:

Set your masterpieces on a lined cookie sheet, place in the oven on the center rack, and set your timer for 15 minutes!  I placed a bit of melted butter and fresh-cracked pepper on top for personal taste.

Step 4:

Pull them out of the oven and enjoy!

At the end of the day, there is little science to making these delicious little flavor explosions - just give yourself the freedom to experiment with all of the delicious dishes you created for this great holiday, and you can even have your guests build their own for an added bit of fun and involvement while they are with you!

However you choose to use those outstanding leftovers, remember to have some fun with it - our best wishes go out to you and your loved ones over the coming holiday season, and stay tuned for more tips and updates from us here at the Rose Stone Inn!

- Shane.