How to turn those Thanksgiving leftovers into tasty new dishes

Twitter is all a flutter with unique ways to turn those Thanksgiving leftovers into tasty new dishes.

Here are some of the top five tweets and recipes making the rounds:

Grilled Turkey Sandwich

By Life Tastes Good

Ingredients:

Loaf of French bread, 4-6" piece per sandwich

1 tablespoon pesto (this blog recommends Alessi Pesto)

2-3 ounces leftover roasted turkey

1 teaspoon sun dried tomatoes, diced (Life Tastes Good recommends Alessi)

1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (at room temperature)

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions

• Preheat the grill pan. Slice the french bread piece through the center so you have a top and a bottom to make the sandwich. Brush melted butter on the outsides of both pieces of french bread.
• Working with the bottom piece of french bread, spread 1 tablespoon pesto on the non-buttered side of the bread (the inside of the bread) and top with 2-3 ounces of leftover roasted turkey. Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon diced sun dried tomatoes and 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Place the top half of the bread on top of the sandwich with the buttered side out.
• Carefully transfer sandwich to grill pan and grill until toasty on both sides.

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Risotto

By The Cookie Writer

Ingredients

3 1/2 - 4 cups homemade turkey stock (or your favourite stock) simmering on stove top

3 tbsp. butter, divided

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup leftover carrots, chopped small

1/2 cup leftover potatoes, chopped small

2 cups roughly chopped leftover turkey meat

1/4 cup diced leeks (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. freshly chopped sage (The Cookie Writer recommends more sage for garnish)

1 cup arborio rice

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Any other leftover ingredients such as corn, peas, etc.

Instructions

• Add 2 tbsp. butter to a large frying pan, melting over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and tender, 3-5 minutes.
• Pour in the carrots, potatoes, and leeks. Cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add garlic and sage; cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in rice and cook for a good couple of minutes. Carefully pour in the white wine. Lots of steam will appear as the liquid touches the pan. Quickly stir the bottom of the pan with a spatula so you can get all the nice brown bits up.
• Pour in 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring until almost all of the liquid is gone before you add the next amount. After about 1 1/2 cups of broth has been added, add turkey. Continue stirring in broth. Risotto is finished when rice is tender, but not too soft.
• Stir in the cheese and mix until it is melted. Stir in remaining butter.
• Serve immediately with additional fresh sage if desired!

Turkey Holiday Hash

By Toni Dash and adapted from Bradley Ogden's 'Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner', as seen on Boulder Locavore

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted Butter

½ cup yellow onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press

½ cup red pepper, finely chopped

3 cups cold cooked turkey, chopped

1 cup cold dressing/stuffing

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper, ground

½ cup sliced almonds

2/3 cup gravy or heavy whipping cream

Garnish: chopped Italian parsley

Batch of roasted garlic buttermilk smashed potatoes (optional)

Instructions

• In a large, heavy skillet (dry) over medium-high heat, place sliced almonds. Stir constantly (to avoid burning) until the almonds begin to turn light golden brown; 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and red pepper to the skillet and sauté, stirring constantly until the onions begin to become translucent.
• Add the turkey, dressing, salt and pepper; stir to mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through; about 5 minutes.
• Add the gravy/cream and almonds to the skillet. Cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, scrapping the bottom of the skillet to incorporate the browned butter into the mixture. Allow mixture to sit a few minutes in between stirring to develop a light golden crust. Hash should still be moist when done; about 5-10 minutes.
• Garnish with chopped Italian parsley and serve immediately. If desired serve turkey holiday hash over a heaping serving of roasted garlic buttermilk smashed potatoes.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

By The Seaman Mom

Ingredients

3 cups mashed potatoes, chilled

1 cup shredded cheese of choice

One small onion, finely chopped

1 cup grated carrots

1 egg, lightly beaten

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (you may need more or less, depending on how dry or wet your mashed potatoes are)

1 cup bread crumbs

Vegetable oil, for pan-frying

Sour cream or Tzatziki sauce, for serving

salt to taste

Instructions

• Grab a large bowl and stir together the mashed potatoes, cheese, onion, carrots, egg, salt and flour until combined (start with 2-3 tablespoons and gradually add as needed).
• Using a large spoon, divide the mixture into portions, depending on how big you want your pancakes.
• Roll each portion into a compact ball then flatten it into a pancake (your choice of thickness but I’d recommend a 1/2-inch)
• Place some bread crumbs in a shallow dish and dredge each pancake.
• Heat some vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat (thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan).
• Fry the pancakes, in batches, until they’re golden brown and crispy on both sides, 2-3 minutes. Add more oil to the pan as needed between batches (don’t overcrowd and don’t flip the pancakes too soon or they won’t develop a crisp crust).
• Transfer the pancakes to a paper towel.
• Serve the pancakes topped with sour cream or dipped in Tzatziki sauce or simple as a side dish, alongside meat and salad.

Turkey Carbonara

By Foodtastic Mom, a Cincinnati food blogger

Ingredients

1 lb. cooked turkey (leftover), shredded

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

6 slices bacon, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 lb spaghetti

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

• Fill a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook until almost crisp. Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring constantly for one minute. Add the cooked turkey and stir well to combine. Cook for another few minutes until the bacon is fully crisp and the turkey is heated through. Remove from heat.
• In a clean bowl, whisk together the two eggs, two egg yolks, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
• Drop the spaghetti in the pot of boiling water and cook according to package directions.
• Drain the spaghetti and pour into a large serving bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the hot pasta and toss until the spaghetti is completely coated and creamy. The heat from the pasta will cook the eggs.
• Stir in the cooked turkey and bacon. Top the pasta with the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 7:22 AM with the headline "How to turn those Thanksgiving leftovers into tasty new dishes."