Leftovers loom

Plan ahead to make the most of what remains on family's holiday table

Ready or not, here they come.

Leftovers. Lots of them.

They’ll fill up your fridge, your freezer and your tummy.

They’ll take over your meal-planning until you can’t stand another taste of turkey, another sample of stuffing or another portion of pie.

But good news: Chances are you haven’t prepared your Thanksgiving dinner yet, let alone eaten it. That gives you plenty of time to make holiday leftovers part of the plan.

Here are 10 tips for making holiday leftovers more than an afterthought this year:

1. Clean out – or clear out – space in your freezer or refrigerator for the leftovers. Chances are, there are a few out-of-date items that deserve the heave-ho. And sometimes, just organizing your fridge or freezer is enough to make room for an extra container of leftovers.

2. Have the right storage materials on hand. Generally, heavy foil, freezer bags that seal well and plastic containers that have tight-fitting lids are all good options.

Also, track down a pen that will write on the containers, to label them with the item and the date. Have all the storage materials in one place to make it easier when dinner is done, and to minimize the time before food is back in the refrigerator.

3. Thanksgiving food – and especially turkey – shouldn’t spend more than two hours between the oven and the refrigerator or freezer. Anything more than that, and you’re risking food contamination.

4. Leftovers should be eaten within three days when stored in the refrigerator, as a general rule. After that, they should be frozen.

5. Homemade pumpkin pies should be covered and refrigerated after dinner. Fruit pies, which are typically made without eggs, can be covered and stored on the counter. (Commercial pumpkin pies often are not refrigerated because they are made with shelf-stable ingredients.)

Richard Gwin/Journal World-Photo Tupper Ware Mindy

6. Turkey can be eaten for three to four months after freezing, though Butterball says it tastes its best for two months. Stuffing keeps its flavor best through one month but can be eaten after two or three months.

7. Think outside the box when it comes to what you’ll eat for leftovers. Here are some possibilities to make your turkey more interesting: quesadillas, pizza, salads, paninis and curried turkey.

8. If your family is more of the turkey sandwich type, try buying artisan breads or a new type of condiment for the sandwiches. Sauerkraut, Thousand Island and rye bread dressing turns your turkey into a reuben sandwich.

9. You can simmer the turkey carcass, broken into large pieces, in a large pot of water with vegetables to make a turkey soup. Or, if you want a break from turkey for awhile, you can freeze the carcass in a large zippered plastic bag for up to three months and make the soup on a cold winter day.

10. If your turkey is dry, add a little broth or water and cover it before reheating.

Sources: McClatchy Tribune, K-State Research & Extension, www.butterball.com, U.S. Department of Agriculture, www.globalgourmet.com