December is a month full of winter holidays and is famous for its feasts. With these feasts comes plenty of food, but with so much food comes plenty of leftovers stuffing the fridge. This brings two choices: continue to eat the same leftovers for the next couple of meals or throw them out. Eating the leftovers over and over again gets a little boring, and it is not preferable to waste food. Then, what can be done about it? That is where these recipes come in, which will refresh these old leftovers and rejuvenate their tastes. 

5. Turkey Sandwich

This sandwich recipe takes only 10 minutes to construct. The leftovers used include baked yams, cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, and turkey meat. Ranch dip can also be added as an extra sauce, which can amplify the richness of the sandwich. Other additions to this sandwich are tomatoes, lettuce, cheese if desired, and the most important ingredient-bread. 

All of these ingredients together will create an extravagant sandwich, but since it is a sandwich, the only ingredient that is truly needed is bread. Besides that, the sandwich can be assembled with any mix of these leftovers and add-ons. No matter what the combination is, the different flavors will be interwoven together to create an enjoyable meal.

4. Butternut Squash & Broccoli with Brown Butter Noodles

This brown butter noodle recipe will bring a whole new life to leftover butternut squash, which can be substituted with pumpkin or sweet potato. Other ingredients needed include noodles, broccoli, onions, ricotta cheese, walnuts (though they are optional), vegetable stock, and olive oil. 

If the walnuts are used, they are first roasted with various seasonings. At the same time, the butternut squash is cut and baked in the oven. The noodles are boiling as well, which is then added to the large skillet that has been cooking the broccoli, onion, and vegetable stock. The butternut squash is then mixed into the skillet and stirred. To finish it off, the noodles are topped with the walnuts that have been cooked prior. It takes about forty minutes to prepare and cook the entire dish. These noodles make a sweet meal that is met with a nice soft yet crispy texture. 

3. Chicken Soup

This classic chicken soup recipe is a great way to reuse any leftover chicken, carrots, and celery. Besides these ingredients, potatoes, leeks, olive oil, and chicken or vegetable stock are also thrown into the pot. 

The carrots, celery, leeks, and potatoes are first chopped into small pieces. Afterwards, the celery, carrots, leeks, and olive oil are tossed into the pot and left to boil for a couple of minutes. The potatoes, chicken, and stock are then poured in and continue to boil. This fifty-minute chicken soup is a hearty dish that gives great comfort during this cold season. 

2. Turkey Noodle Casserole

This noodle casserole recipe stars turkey or chicken leftovers from last night. It requires celery and carrots, which can both be reused vegetables, as well as noodles, onions, flour, cheese, sour cream, and milk. Cayenne can also be added depending on spice preferences. 

To start, boil the noodles in one pot and in another have the onions, carrots, and celery cooking together. The flour, milk, and cheese are all individually poured in and stirred. This is then followed by noodles, turkey, sour cream, and seasonings which are all mixed together. Finally, the contents are poured into a baking dish and baked for about thirty minutes. This dish that takes about an hour to cook is a fresh take on leftover turkey that will give a calm feeling to anyone who eats this vibrant platter.

1. Sweet Potato Risotto

pumpkin or butternut squash. It needs onion, celery, garlic, parmesan cheese, chicken or vegetable stock, and specifically arborio rice. Arborio rice is the best rice to use for any risotto dish as it absorbs large quantities of liquid and creates a creamy texture when cooked with this technique.

This dish starts with the sweet potatoes roasting for a few minutes and then mashed. The onion and the celery are then cooked in a saucepan. Consecutively, rice, chicken or vegetable stock, and cheese are added to the saucepan and continuously stirred until done. Though it takes around two hours to cook, it is worth it to create a dish with a velvety texture that gives a savory spin to sweet potatoes.