Christmas Leftovers Guide

Introduction

With Christmas in full swing and the smell of turkey wafting through the house it’s an exciting time of the year for the inner chef in all of us, but what happens to the leftovers? Here’s our guide on what to create with your leftover Christmas food.

Festive Nachos

Now that you’ve wished your friends and family a Feliz Navidad you’re going to have a whole lot of food left over! So why not spice up your Boxing Day with this Tex-Mex classic? We’d suggest using any leftover meats such as ham or turkey and sprinkle it on top of your standard nachos recipe, add any cheese you may have remaining from your festive cheese board, and for those living on the edge you can substitute salsa for cranberry sauce.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 1 share bag of tortilla chips

• As much leftover meat as possible!

• 2 tomatoes

• 2 green peppers

• Salsa or cranberry sauce (as much as you like)

• 2 cups of shredded cheese
• Jalapeños or chillies (optional)

Cooking Instructions

1. Lay the tortilla chips out in an appropriate baking tray
2. Begin to apply toppings, the order is optional, however cheese on the top is highly recommended
3. Make sure your oven is heated to 200°C and bake for 10-12 minutes till the cheese has melted 

Veggie Christmas Burger

Let’s face it, vegetables are criminally overlooked as a leftover during Christmas. They’re often thrown out but here is a recipe that can stop this injustice! Veggie burgers can easily be created using any vegetable leftovers such Brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and even sage and onion stuffing. The burgers can be topped off by melting any leftover cheese and placed into any form of bread you desire.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• Any leftover vegetables (quantity depends on the size of your burger)
• 2 cups of cheese
  
• 1 bag of salad for garnish
  
• 4 bread buns 
  
• Cranberry/apple/mint sauce
  

Cooking Instructions 

1. Cut all vegetables you intend to use into as small pieces as possible
2. Proceed by using a potato masher to break your ingredients into one mixture
3. Begin to manipulate the mix into burger patties
4. Add oil to a frying pan and cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes on either side
5. Toast or warm bread if appropriate and serve with a side salad

Yorkshire Pudding Calzone 

Christmas is seen as the most romantic time of the year and we think no different, however, instead of finding a soul mate we think you’ll fall in love with this Calzone. The beauty of this recipe is, apart from the base, you can literally add any ingredients you want! Go crazy and have some fun but just don’t propose to the meal, it won’t say “yes”.

Ingredients (per Calzone)

• 140g of flour

• 4 eggs

• 200ml of milk

• Dash of oil

• Any leftovers you want!
  

Cooking Instructions (if all ingredients have been pre-cooked)

1. Tip the flour into a mixing bowl and add 4 eggs, beat the mixture till smooth
2. Add 200 ml of milk and continue to beat
3. Add a dash of oil into a large round baking tray and heat at 200°C until warm
4. Pour mixture into the warmed baking tray and cook for 20-25 minutes until the Yorkshire pudding is golden and puffy
5. Remove the pudding from the oven and begin filling it with your ingredients but don’t get too greedy as you’ll need to roll this up
6. Once rolled, place back in the over for around 10-12 minutes (depending on what your ingredients are) 

Bacon, Mac n’ Cheese Potato Cupcakes

All of us love American recipes, right? This Christmas why not try a classic from across the pond that we are sure you won’t have created before! Cupcakes aren’t just a sweet treat but they can be a great winter warmer for all the family, and make you look like the culinary genius only you know you are.

Ingredients

• 400g of tube shaped pasta

• 2 cups of cheese (or as much as you like)

• 1 egg

• 1 onion (optional)

• As much leftover bacon as possible

• Cooking spray

• Cupcake case

Cooking Instructions (24 cupcakes)

1. Begin by boiling your pasta for around 12-15 minutes
2. Once heated add your cheese, egg and onion into a mixture and beat until as smooth as possible
3. Once beaten, begin pouring mixture into a cupcake tray which will help form the shape
4. Take any leftover bacon you have from pigs in blankets or Christmas breakfast and crumble on top of each individual cupcake
5. Apply a small amount of cooking spray to the cupcakes and place in an oven that has been pre-heated at 180°C
6. Cook for around 12-15 minutes and serve 5 minutes later once the cupcakes have cooled

Christmas Kebabs

We’ve saved this recipe for any culinary novices, you may not have cooked the Christmas dinner but you’ll certainly be eating the leftovers. The great thing about the Christmas Kebab is that anything can be skewered! So, if you want a meat, cheese, vegetable or combination of all its really simple.

Ingredients

• Any and all Christmas dinner leftovers that can be skewered

Cooking Instructions

1. Simply pick and choose the ingredients you want
2. Place a skewer through a secure part of the food to avoid it dropping off
   
3. Place the skewer on a grill and cook at a medium heat from anywhere between 5-10 minutes depending on what’s on your stick
   

Did we miss anything? Let us know by sharing your tips!