5 Things You Can Do with Leftover Turkey

Starting Friday morning the first thing friends and family will be looking for are the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers. No one wants to cook after that Thursday and most are tempted to buy food out as if you didn't cook for one hundred people. There must be something creative you can do with those turkey leftovers that will keep them coming back for more.

Try the following options:

1) Make great Panini sandwiches

All that's required will be bread, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and whatever other condiments you prefer on your turkey Panini. Heat up the bread in a skillet with a little olive oil (or butter if you don't have it). Let it toast on each side for about 2-3 minutes. While the bread is warming up shred turkey leftovers for your sandwich. Add condiments and warm meat and you have a quick sandwich that only took five to seven minutes to make.

2) Make a marinara sauce with the turkey leftovers

The traditional meat to add with pasta is meatballs, this Thanksgiving make it turkey. The pasta itself will take about 10 minutes to cook, and a pasta sauce can be anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on what all you put in it. I like spinach and mushrooms with an assortment of Italian herbs and spices. Heat the turkey with the pasta sauce and in about 20 minutes you will have a pasta dish that even your children will love.

3) Go Mexican and make quesadillas

Only two extra ingredients are needed after the leftover turkey... cheese and tortillas. To make a quick quesadilla, place meat and cheese on one side and transfer to a lightly oiled and heated skillet. Place second tortilla on top of combination. Flip the quesadilla when the cheese has adhered to the second tortilla, about five to seven minutes. Cook quesadilla another five minutes and there you have it. Add green onions, cilantro, sour cream and pico de gallo if you'd like. A simple salsa will work here as well.

4) Add to a soup of your choice

I'd recommend a cream-based or broth soup to add your turkey for a hearty soup meal. If you have leftover cornbread you can use that to dip into the soup as well to get rid of more of those Thanksgiving leftovers you may have.

5) Add to a salad for a healthier option

Most restaurants do it, why can't you? More than likely the turkey you have leftover is already shredded to pieces anyway and it probably has some flavor to it as well. The next time you decide to add a salad to a meal, kick it up a notch with some leftover turkey and you may get full quicker than you expected.