Thanksgiving Day Leftover Salad

Well, I think it's safe to say that I've had an extremely unproductive day.  Unless you count watching On Demand reruns of 19 Kids And Counting and Keeping Up With The Kardashians to be productive.  I do not.

Something tells me Bruce won't either.

Let's shift the subject away from my laziness and talk about something much more appetizing, shall we?  Thanksgiving Day Leftovers!  Giada was on the Today Show this morning talking about what to do - beyond the classic Turkey Sandwich - with Thanksgiving Day Leftovers.

Of course Giada prepared an elaborate feast.  Half of my kitchen is packed - an elaborate feast is not a possibility.  But I did create something delicious, healthy and ridiculously easy!

Thanksgiving Day Leftover Salad.

What's that?  The Hallelujah* Chorus?  I thought so.

Here's what I did.

I put all of my leftovers (turkey, peas and stuffing) on foil-covered tray and into our toaster oven on 300 degrees for about 20 minutes.  During the last five minutes I added whole wheat rolls that I had cut into cubes.  They weren't as crunchy or flavorful as croutons, but they had a nice crispiness them.

And you don't need the flavor in the bread for this salad.  It comes from the turkey and the stuffing.

While everything was warming and crisping up, I washed and chopped some romaine lettuce and vine tomatoes.  I was kind of wishing I had some cucumbers!  Those would have been an awesome addition. I sliced the turkey and then added everything on top of the lettuce.

And gave it a light drizzle with ranch dressing.  It was delicious.

This was such a great way for me to enjoy the leftovers, but still get in some fresh veggies.  My poor body needs a break from all of the carbs!  I was able to eat smaller portions of everything else, but with the huge pile of romaine, still had a nice, full meal.

What do you all do with your Thanksgiving Day leftovers?  My mom makes a casserole and freezes it.  It's delicious, but I'm trying to clean OUT my freezer, not add more stuff. :) I think if I had a full kitchen, I would make my mother-in-law's pie crust and make a Thanksgiving Day Leftover Pie.

Yum.  Now I want that.  Can someone please do that and tell me how it is?  Her crust recipe is here.  That would be awesome, thanks.

Have a great night everyone!  I'm off to have dinner with Bruce and a friend of his from work - I'm trying to convince myself that I won't fall over in pain if I put a pair of heels on.  Wish me luck!

*Three years of seminary and I still need spell check to tell me how to spell "Hallelujah".