Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. It may be because I love good food and cooking it, or it could be because I get to enjoy that good food with friends that care just as much as I do about food. We start planning Thanksgiving well before November because having a massive feast (and leftovers) of food is awesome.
I will say I look forward to it so much because none of us make casseroles – a dish that consists of dumping a few cans into a pan and baking it. We all labor over our dishes and put thought into what ingredients go into those dishes. We also look forward to leftovers just as much as the main meal, which is good since most Thanksgiving dinners result in many leftovers.
For our feast this year we decided to forgo the turkey since the side dishes are really the best part of the meal and the turkey is the biggest source of leftovers and waste. It is also hard to find a sustainably sourced turkey. If you do buy a turkey and have lots of leftovers that you don’t know what to do with here are a couple of ideas: Chili, sandwiches, tetrazzini, or just freeze it for later use. Also don’t forget to keep the carcass for making broth.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, but please remember not to waste the leftover foods. We already have an issue with food waste in this country, but this holiday really highlights that issue. Please remember the many people that went into growing and harvesting that food. Also please remember the many people that are not having a meal that is abundant with food. If you have too many leftovers and don’t know what to do with them google a recipe, freeze it for later use, or just plan ahead of time for how many people will be there versus how much food to serve.
Happy Thanksgiving!
