Struggling to make use of your Christmas leftovers? Bagging it all up ready for the bin? Hold on! Those leftovers could be the key to making some incredible dishes you’ve never even thought of!
Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can make use of those pesky Christmas Leftovers:
1. For an extra tasty turkey roast you can put slices of clementine on the turkey breast, along with a sprinkling of thyme leaves, for an extra taste boost while it is roasting.
2. During the Christmas period many of us will have leftover veg lurking in the fridge or cupboards which either need to be eaten, cooked and then eaten or recycled in our brown bins.
It is a good idea to use leftover veg in a soup – it is quick to make, cheap and nutritious.
3. If you get a chocolate orange for Christmas you can break it into small pieces and use it to make chocolate orange brownies.
4. Leftover jars of mincemeat can be used to make a fruit cake.
Just switch the dried fruit for the equivalent weight in mincemeat and you will have a wonderfully moist fruit cake.
5. You can use any turkey leftovers from your Christmas dinner to make a spicy turkey stir-fry. Or you could swap meat for Brussels sprouts to make a veggie alternative.
6. If you have some leftover Brussels sprouts why not use them in bubble and squeak jacket potatoes for a nutritious festive lunch?
Just add bacon, cream cheese, cheddar and spring onions to mashed-up sprouts, all stuffed into a fluffy jacket potato.
7. Once the turkey, stuffing and roast potatoes have all been eaten, you are usually left with a half-eaten jar of cranberry sauce.
Instead of throwing it away keep it for a Boxing Day breakfast. Just stir the cranberry sauce into a bowl of hot creamy porridge for a fruity kick-start in the morning.
8. You can use leftover stuffing to make some easy breakfast patties.
Just mix your stuffing with some grated cheese and form into patties before frying them.
You can serve them with a fried egg or use them in a breakfast sandwich.
9. If you have a bottle of Baileys lying around this Christmas you can use some of it to make a simple no cook cake.
All you need is a ready-made flan case, a packet of chocolate Angel Delight, some milk and your leftover Baileys.
Make up your Angel Delight as usual, but substitute some of the milk for Baileys. Pour the Angel Delight mix into the flan case, leave in the fridge to set and you will have a Baileys chocolate flan cake!
10. Use up any leftover advocaat in a classic snowball in a throwback to the 1970s.
Just add lemonade and ice to the advocaat to celebrate the festive season.
11. Nut roast leftovers can be used to make vegan sausage rolls.
Just take get a sheet of ready-made puff pastry and roll your nut roast into sausage-like shapes to fill the pastry with. Roll the pastry into one large sausage roll, using either egg or vegan margarine to stick the pastry to itself. Then cut the large sausage roll into smaller ones and cook for 15-25 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
12. Leftover Christmas pudding? Just mix your pudding with ginger ice cream for a quick dessert that you can freeze and eat at a later date.
Is there anything I’ve missed? Let us know about some of your favourite Christmas leftover techniques!
Lisa Burns.
