Post-Holiday Mash-Ups

It's the day after Thanksgiving and you've got a refrigerator stacked with snapware filled with half-eaten stuffing, sweet potatoes, apple pie, and that chard and turnip gratin that tasted good but was bit too runny.   The next week's meals could be nothing more than Holiday redux, over and over again.  You could just freeze everything until sometime next spring you open up a container to wonder, "What was I thinking."  Or, you could put on your mad scientist hat and challenge yourself to create meals out of the leftovers that look nothing like Turkey day fare.  Here are a few post-holiday mash ups that are so simple, they can even be done in the bathroom:

Got sweet potatoes?
Add some stock and a little half and half and you've got an elegant soup.
Works with mashed potatoes too.  Top with creme fraiche.

Stuffed with stuffing?
Chop up some turkey, add enough eggs to moisten the mixture, form into patties and fry in a skillet.  Serve with cranberry sauce, spicy ketchup, or butter & maple syrup.  Variations: add grated cheese or mashed sweet potatoes or chopped roasted carrots.

Stone soup
To a stock (maybe the stock from the turkey carcass), add any of the left over vegetables.  Creamed onions = creamy onion soup.  Chard and turnip gratin = hearty vegetable stew.  Green beans + turkey + tomatoes + noodles = turkey minestrone.

In a state of pie overwhelm?
It's hard to be sick of pie, but sometimes that "tasted good but doesn't look so great" pie you made yourself is hard to keep eating for three days.  If you have an ice cream maker, make a simple ice cream base: about 4 1/2 cups liquid (half cream and half milk) with 2 cups sugar and vanilla.  Add the filling of an apple, pumpkin or pecan pie (no crust) and mix thoroughly.  Follow your machine's directions for making ice cream.