A delicious Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favourite meals of the year! But after a few days of the same leftovers on repeat, I sometimes feel like I never want to see turkey or stuffing ever again. Today, I’ve taken some of your typical Thanksgiving leftover ingredients and transformed them into completely different meals. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Chickpea Penne

This recipe is great because you can substitute several ingredients based on which leftovers you have. For this recipe, I used leftover roasted butternut squash, but any other roasted squash will do. You may just have to add more vegetable broth to the blender to make the sauce creamier, depending on the texture. You can also use leftover squash soup instead of the roasted squash. Just add the soup directly to the pan after the onions and garlic have been sautéed and skip the vegetable broth and coconut milk. You can also substitute for any other pasta.

Note that if your squash is pre-seasoned you won’t have to add any other spices beyond the ingredients already listed. If your squash isn’t pre-seasoned, try rosemary, sage, thyme or basil, which all work well.

Butternut Squash Chickpea Penne

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ white onion, diced
• 1 cup organic vegetable broth
• 2 cups squash (any kind of pre-cooked squash or squash soup)
• 8 oz chickpea penne (or other pasta)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/8-¼ tsp chili flakes
• Optional: 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Sautee garlic, onions and the chili flakes the until onions turn translucent (approx. 5-10 mins).
3. Add the cooked squash and the vegetable broth, reduce heat & simmer for 5 mins. Set aside to cool.
4. In the meantime, start cooking pasta according to instructions on the box.
5. Transfer the squash mixture to a blender. Add coconut milk if using (makes it a bit creamier) and salt & pepper to taste.
6. Add the sauce mixture and the noodles back to the frying pan. Mix in the nutritional yeast.
7. Stir over low heat for 3 mins before serving.

Thanksgiving Leftover Asian Lettuce Wraps

Thanksgiving Leftover Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 head Boston lettuce, washed and dried
• 1 ½ cup julienned carrots
• 2 cups leftover turkey
• 2 cups leftover stuffing
• Optional: 1/3 cup cashews (or peanuts or almonds), chopped

For the sauce:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp tamari
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp almond butter (or natural peanut butter)

Directions:

1. Break the leftover turkey into small, shredded pieces. Re-heat the stuffing and turkey. *Can also serve cold.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.
3. Top the lettuce leaves with a small amount of stuffing, turkey, carrots and chopped cashews. Drizzle with the sauce and enjoy!

Leftover Stuffing Frittata

Leftover Stuffing Frittata

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup baby spinach
• 1 cup leftover stuffing
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• Coconut oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Optional: ¼ cup goat cheese
• Optional: Leftover turkey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 9 baking dish or pie dish with coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl, scramble the eggs and add the coconut milk and spinach. Mix well.
3. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle in the stuffing and goat cheese, and place the tomatoes on top. Note that you can mix in the stuffing ahead of time, but it may make it an ugly grey colour.
4. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly undercooked if prepping ahead of time, then reheat for 5 minutes and it will be cooked perfectly.