Preparing Thanksgiving Leftovers

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In America, the Thanksgiving holiday captures the essence of our Grace Before Meals movement.  It celebrates the goodness and importance of the family around a dinner table, with people calling or traveling long distances to be with family. Even non-religious people sense a sacred moment when, right before they carve the turkey, they take a moment and recognize their blessings in life.

(There are always leftovers at my house with a spread like this!)

It’s interesting that for this upcoming holiday, people become a bit more spiritual and religious:
1) doing corporal works of mercy by collecting and distributing donated foods to the poor,
2) inviting the homeless to eat with them at a charitable organization, or
3) yes, even saying a prayer before they chow down a.k.a. grace before meals. All of these gestures help us recognize that appreciating a loving family is just another part of living a good life.

(I know my parents just love having the grandkids – around – even though they can really eat ALOT!)

I will spend Thanksgiving at my parents’ home, which is always so crowded with family, friends, and whoever happens to be there.  We don’t do the traditional early suppertime meal, but instead, we eat around 7 p.m.  Because there are so many of us, there isn’t a table (or a room for that matter) in my parents’ home big enough to accommodate everyone so we don’t do a formal, sit-down dinner.  Instead, we usually just plate all our foods buffet-style.  And you know what that means: lots of lovely leftovers!

This week’s Menu Inspiration will celebrate two ways to make Thanksgiving leftovers worthy of another celebration: Mashed Potato Cakes & Creamy Carrot and Ginger Soup.

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Mashed Potato Cakes

(As you can see from this picture, even though they’re leftovers, these potato cakes make for great stackable food for fancier presentations.)

Creamy Carrot and Ginger Soup

(Adding more or less stock or other liquids will either tighten or loosen the soup to your preference. Just make sure you accordingly add LESS salt at the beginning of the process.)

Let Us Pray:

Heavenly Father, You showed Your eternal generosity through Your Son’s miracle.  You made water into the best wine at Cana, and had 12 baskets of leftovers from the miracle that fed more than 5,000.  Almighty God, help us to be grateful – even for these “leftovers,” so that by Your example of generosity, we may be inspired to be just as generous in feeding those who hunger for food, faith, family, and Your compassion.  You ultimately proved Your generosity by giving us Your only Son on the Cross.  Fill our lives with this goodness, so that we in turn share that gift with others.  Amen.

(I turned some leftover turkey into a gourmet panini by adding a little basil pesto mayo, and sautéing the turkey in some hot sauce. And don’t forget to grill the bread!)

What do you do with your leftovers?  Do you have any tips or ideas on how to transform the Thanksgiving Dinner into a whole new meal?  Did you have a chance to express your thanks-giving by spending time, treasure or talent with those less fortunate?  Let us know about something inspiring from your Thanksgiving experience.  Your comments help inspire our members to share the blessings!  Post your comments and questions below.

(Turkey carving – talk about the need for “grace” before the meal!)

And between now and Thanksgiving, I certainly pray your travel plans and your holiday preparations go smoothly and gracefully!

Posted in Food for the Body, Food for the Soul, Grace Before Meals, Menu Inspiration, Recipe-Side Dishes, Recipes, Vegetables | No Comments