Put down that Patty!

Or, what to do with the 10 pounds of turkey leftover from Thanksgiving! Does anyone else have this conundrum? I mean really, how is that you buy an 14 pound turkey, feed 7 adults and 4 kids and still have more than half the meat left over? And what do you do with it then? We all enjoy a turkey sandwich (and if you don't you're either vegetarian or insane -that's the only categories I have for you...) but you can only eat so much warmed up turkey.

In our house we enjoy leftovers - again, to a point - but more often than not the leftovers take a different form than what they started out as. For instance, meat loaf magically transforms into tacos, meatballs or a delicious BBQ sandwich (if all else fails, go for the sandwich). In the case of the mountains of turkey hanging out in my fridge, leftovers has become turkey noodle soup (oh, yes, soup another standby), Hot turkey sandwiches (a piece of bread with turkey on top smothered in gravy - we Canadians love our gravy), and a new addition, Turkey Patties. I'm sure this recipe exists out there somewhere but I didn't look for one, I just threw what I had into a bowl and "VOILA" instant success. I love when that happens. S. wasn't exactly thrilled with them but he's only young so it could have been an uncooperative moment as well, you just never can tell...

In case you'd like to enjoy one of these Patties, here's the recipe:

Throw into a bowl,

3 cups leftover turkey chopped up and shredded - don't get all exact and fretful over whether you have the exact amounts cause I really never do...

2 eggs

1 cup of leftover mashed potatoes

3/4 cup leftover sweet potatoes

1/2 cup of bread crumbs (or the bottom crumbs of all your cracker bags - yes, this is what I used)

1/4 chopped up cheese - I used cheddar cause that's what I had

1/4 cup of chopped up stuffing or carrots or green beans or whatever else you happen to have

Then, mix, mix, mix until it's sticky enough to form a patty. When they're all shaped dip them in bread crumbs and place on a baking sheet. Bake 350F for about 20 minutes or until cooked through (the cheese will start melting). You just want to make sure the egg gets cooked and the outside is a little brown. You could also flip the patties over halfway through baking time to 'crunch' up the little thing but I'm awful lazy and didn't do that.

You could eat these on their own, as appetizers, with a salad or in a bun with lettuce, mayo, beets, coleslaw or anything yummy like that. Enjoy!