I don’t know about you, but I love leftovers.

It is quite possible my love for them comes from the fact that I inevitably eat them every day. Or, at least 4/7ths of the week.  Since I do what I do, and like so many of us with the 9-5+ existence, often times I have to make everything during precious weekend hours, so reheat and repeat is more often than not the way of my world. I don’t really mind, because we all know that a big pot of chili or hearty stew tastes better if it has a day to meld.

I do see your point, leftover-hater, because who wants to eat the SAME THING five days in a row?  Admittedly there are few dishes that don’t become repulsive by day four.  That’s why it’s important to be creative with leftovers and with 10 pounds of that 25 pound turkey leftover on Black Friday, creativity gets a gold star.

There are two ways to go about this. You can keep the same flavor profile of T-day and put it all back together and make something like my mom’s post-thanksgiving shephard’s pie or Monica’s famous sandwich with a moist maker.

Fine options, but you know how I roll, and I like to mix it up.

MIX IT UP.

These are the good things I’m thinking of eating come Friday:  

Start the day off on a sweet and tangy foot with this cranberry smoothie.

Got extra dinner rolls? Dry them out a bit and make some bread pudding. I recommend chocolate, because chocolate.

Turn those heavy mashed potatoes into fluffy gnocchi.  Ditto with the butternut squash.

Better yet, waffles!

After slaving away all day roasting the turkey, give yourself a break and make a hearty, slow-cooker cassoulet with the leftovers.

Or make Taiwanese style dumplings like these geniuses.  

And don’t forget the Sri Lankan Turkey Curry or Pumpkin Pie Hotteok from last week.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope your day is full of family and friends, food and stretchy pants.

Written during parade preparations.

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Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!  I wanna wash my hands, my face and hair with snow… Okay, perhaps it’s a bit too soon to be singing the songs from White Christmas, but we just got our first snowfall! And that is an occasion for pancakes, so how about these pumpkin pie stuffed Hotteok?  Hotteok are Korean pancakes.

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Hello, Sunday.

I’m happy to report that the week of sloth and of me was a huge success. I sat around, watched TV, and sat around some more. I also played a random game of beer pong (with water) because the 21 year old is alive within me somewhere.  All of the above means that I’ve found my mood much improved, and my outlook on recent difficulties brighter.

Self-care. The oft forgotten priority.

Here in the middle we’re still experiencing some warmer than norm temps, and I was able to get out on the tennis court a few times this week-I NEVER thought I’d be playing mid-November- and my favorite Chicago moment of the week was Friday night, playing under the lights with Chicago’s glow in in the background. It truly felt like a movie moment.  What was your movie moment this week? It’s fun to think about.

I hope your week was equally restful and uplifting, despite recent events. Perhaps these little bits will help: (more…)