A Christmas Dinner Menu That Will Give You TONS of Leftovers!

One of the best things about a delicious holiday meal is the fact that you will have a bunch of leftovers to make incredible dishes over the following week that won't involve a lot of planning, preparing or grocery shopping, which is a major plus since you will be exhausted after entertaining for so long! When you are deciding on your Christmas dinner menu, do the planning with the week after in mind. Be thoughtful about the sides and main proteins you will be preparing. Add an extra pound of your protein to allow room for leftovers.

If your family is a big fan of turkey, there are plenty of leftover meals you can prepare quickly and easily. You will be able to utilize all of the turkey meat in a delicious, tasty way. Try dicing up some white meat turkey and mix it with some prepared pasta noodles (large elbow macaroni or egg noodles work the best). Add half of a bag of frozen peas and carrots, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and cover with grated cheese and you will have a delicious turkey tetrazzini in no time! You can also make hot open face turkey sandwiches using the turkey as well as left over stuffing and mashed potatoes. Don't forget to use that extra leftover gravy to pour over the sandwiches...yum! If the protein you are using is beef, your options are endless as far as leftovers go. Take some fresh hoagie rolls and fill them with thinly sliced beef (roast beef, prime rib or tenderloin are great choices). Add some provolone cheese or another cheese of your choice. For a little variation, you can add some sautéed onions and mushrooms to the sandwich as well. Put the sandwiches under the broiler for until heated through and the cheese is melted. Dip the sandwiches in some hot au jus and you have a delicious French Dip sandwich in mere minutes!

A Christmas dinner menu does not have to be planned for just one specific day of the year. You can have delicious meals for the entire week after the holidays with just a little extra planning and thought. Being creative with your menu plan will keep your family from getting tired of the same protein for several days in a row and you will be able to use up all of the leftovers so there will be no wasting good, delicious food!