Hosting Thanksgiving is no easy feat. You spread days (maybe weeks!) of meal planning and preparing with the Thanksgiving turkey as your centerpiece. At the Tringali house, we’re notorious for baking a bird that’s way too big for our small family of three. My mother would receive a 15 (or more)-pound turkey from her employer as a gift. It was tradition for the company to give their employees a little something for Thanksgiving. Needless to say, we always had leftover turkey.

Lots of families opt make turkey sandwiches and there are so many different sandwich recipes out there too. But, how many turkey sandwiches can you eat before you get tired of it?

So, nix the sandwich and try something new!

Even after leaving my parent’s house, I had a habit of putting together large meals, which still meant tons of leftovers. I took it upon myself to create and adapt tasty recipes to use up our turkey and have a couple to share with you below.

Turkey Chili

I’m originally from Texas and Texans LOVE chili. Spice things up a bit with my turkey chili recipe that will also warm you up as the weather cools down.

• 2-3 cups of shredded and chopped up turkey
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained
• 1 can (15.5 oz) pinto beans, drained
• 1 can (15.5 oz) corn, drained
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• ½ Tbsp. cumin
• ½ Tbsp. cayenne pepper (more if you want it spicier)
• Cheddar cheese (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

First, drizzle a little olive oil in a large sauce pot. Mix together all the ingredients except the turkey and simmer for 5-10 minutes or till it’s all heated through on medium heat. Then, add the turkey and turn to low for another 10 minutes or till it’s at the right temperature for you.

If desired, top with cheese and sour cream. I’m a huge fan of corn bread with my chili, so if you have any leftovers from Thanksgiving add it to this meal. Or try out this corn bread recipe.

Thanksgiving Pizza

Who doesn’t love pizza? I thought I was the only crazy person that thought this up, but go figure that there are actually some other recipes floating around. Take some creative liberties with this one depending on what you have available.

• 1 Tube of Refrigerated Pizza Dough like Pillsbury
• Couple of cups of chopped up turkey
• About a cup of stuffing
• About a cup of cranberry sauce
• Some turkey gravy
• Some mashed potatoes
• Cheddar cheese to top
• And whatever else

Roll out the pizza dough on a greased baking sheet and cook a little less than half way through. Take out the baking sheet and now top with your desired ingredients to cook for the rest of the desired time or till the cheese melts through on the top.

Don’t forget to check out our arsenal of delicious recipes on MilitaryShoppers.com too. There are some great adaptable meals for your leftover turkey like Turkey Noodle Soup. Use this traditional Chicken Noodle Soup recipe and switch out the chicken for turkey.

It’s also easy to make Turkey Ala King. In a large pot, saute butter and green peppers for a couple of minutes then add flour and milk. When the mixture is a thick consistency, add turkey and other veggies. Serve this with warm buttermilk biscuits.

Turkey Casserole is a great one dish meal. All you need to do is mix turkey, macaroni, cream of chicken soup, cheese and milk in a large casserole dish and bake for an hour. Add curry powder for an extra kick.

How do you use your Thanksgiving leftovers? Share your recipe with the MilitaryShoppers recipe contest.