Preparing for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving is almost—gasp!—upon us, and I AM NOT PREPARED. (I’ve been up to my elbows planning a little race called the Turk-EA Trot—heard of it?) Thankfully, I’m not hosting, but I still always want to make ‘my own’ Thanksgiving FOR THE LEFTOVERS. I didn’t appreciate how much I would miss my favorite childhood dishes now that we spend Thanksgiving at my in-laws’ house. Apparently, as a kid I naively thought everyone served the exact same food on Thanksgiving. Not so.

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strangest dinner ever

Andrew and I have an impending trip and I’ve been trying to clean out our fridge, freezer and pantry for the last few weeks. Tonight, we were each on our own for dinner, and Andrew finished off what was left of a rotisserie chicken and some veggies.

I, on the other hand, got a little more creative:

Salad with the last of the lettuce, the last of some jarred beets, red onion, the last of some shredded cheddar cheese, the last of some cukes and onions in vinegar and a little ceasar dressing.

But wait–it gets better.

Bacon on Ezekiel bread with almond butter. In an effort to eat some bacon I cooked for Andrew’s weekday breakfasts, I channeled my inner chef to mimic the bacon and peanut butter burger I had at Cole’s, a bistro on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. Sounds crazy, but it’s good. And so was this. Thinking I might make one as a snack tomorrow…

lunch

I had leftovers for lunch today. Last night I grilled zucchini, lettuce, red onion and asparagus and mixed them all into the leftover barley I had sitting in the fridge from the other day. I served that with grilled kielbasa from the freezer. The only bad thing about using my grill pan here in the hotel is that it makes the room SO SMOKY! It’s going to be a smoky summer…

I tore up some of the romaine I got at the farmers’ market and topped it with the leftover barley and veggie salad and some tomatoes, then drizzled it with the balsamic syrup.

I served it with the toasted rye and flaxseed bread I got Saturday at the Co-op spread with the goat cheese from the farmers’ market, along with hummus and cucumbers.

YUM. And it was so healthy and I felt so good eating it. Yay barley 🙂