Ah, here it is Thanksgiving time. A time to be thankful for
family, friends, our homes, and much more. It is that time of
year we give thanks to God for what he has given us even if we don't
have very much.
Thanksgiving day is almost here and family and friends will soon be
coming over. You have deep cleaned the house so that your
visitors can see how well you keep up the house. They don't need
to know that half of the mess is in the closet in your room.
You have decided to cook up the meal and have asked some of your
visitors to bring something. Of course, some people bring a
little extra just in case there isn't enough food. I mean what
does a stay at home Fathers really know about cooking for a lot of
people?
You have everyone stand around the table holding hands as you give
thanks to God for what you have. Everyone is having a great time
eating and enjoying each others company. Ah, this is great.
You have worked all day preparing a meal when all of sudden in about
fifteen minutes everyone is done. The men have taken off to watch the
football game and women are talking and you have eaten only half of
what is on your plate. All day working and now you are the only one
eating, what seems to be by yourself.
You finish up your meal and you turn towards the kitchen and you say to
yourself, "What a mess." You start to clean up the kitchen,
hopefully someone comes by to help. Now you have important
decisions to make.
As you go into the kitchen you see all this leftover food because you
made a "little extra." The dinner roles are still in the microwave
because you forgot to take them out. And, there is still all that
food on the table. What are you going to do now? Do you throw it
away, give it away, or keep it?
This is a great time to think about saving money. I suggest you put
some of the food in the freezer and some in the refrigerator. Ask if
anyone wants some food to take home. There is going to be extra
food that your visitors brought that they don't want to take back home
as well.
This is fantastic. There is so much to do with this extra
food. Here are some examples: When you make spaghetti you can
chop up some of that turkey or ham and use it in your spaghetti sauce
instead of hamburger. You can use turkey or ham on homemade
pizza. A turkey and/or ham vegetable pie would be good for a
dinner. You can use the rolls (that were left in the microwave)
for bread when you make sandwiches for you and your children.
Turkey soup or ham and bean soup is a good choice as well.
I visited a website that has some great ideas for leftovers. I
would suggest going to www.notjustbeans.com. Tawra Kellam and
Jill Cooper have some fantastic ideas on what to do with all those
leftovers. Here are some ideas that they have:
"Here are some ideas from Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family
Favorites, to help you put those leftovers to good use and keep your
clean conscience!"
1. Mix gravy, cubed turkey and leftover vegetables into a casserole
dish. Top with refrigerator biscuits, leftover pie crust or crescent
rolls (unbaked). Bake at 350 until the dough is cooked and golden brown.
2. When making pies on Thanksgiving Day, save the extra dough or make
extra to use to make pasties. Roll out discs of dough in whatever size
you want and fill with meat, vegetables and leftover potatoes.
3. Don't forget to use your leftover relish dish. Chop and use in
salads, soups or casseroles. If you're really sick of the vegetables,
chop and freeze to use later.
4. Use leftover mashed potatoes to thicken soups and stews.
5. Make potato pancakes: Add 1 egg and 2 Tbsp. flour to 2 cups mashed
potatoes. Make into patties and fry in a pan with margarine.
Pasties
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2-1 lb. ground beef, turkey or chicken, cooked
salt and pepper (to taste)
Dough
Use leftover pie crust or use the following recipe:
1 cup shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
6 Tbsp. water
In a saucepan, simmer the carrots in the water, butter, and chicken
bouillon cubes. Add potatoes, onion, meat and salt and pepper. Divide
into fourths. Mix dough ingredients and roll into four 10- inch
circles. Put the meat mixture on one side of the dough. Fold the other
half of the dough over and seal with fingers or a fork. Bake 1 hour at
375. Serves 4-6.
You can also add other vegetables. This is a good way to use those leftovers, so be creative!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Remember, give your child a hug today and tell them that you love them. Bart Buskey, Meridian, Idaho email at:
