Snacksgiving: Thankful for Leftovers – Part 1

Leftovers are a Thanksgiving tradition, but by the third reheated meal, you might be quite bored of the leftovers. It’s time to give new life to the leftovers.

Mashed potatoes are my responsibility every year. The recipe I use  for the Cheddar, Chive & Bacon Mashed Potatoes can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 4 baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (1 cup = 1/2 pint)
• 1/4 cup (or 4 tablespoons) sour cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 package of grade sharp cheddar
• bacon bits
• 1 stalk of green onions, chopped

Time: 1 hour

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt.
3. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes for approximately 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
4. Drain the water and return the pot with the potatoes to the stove at a medium-low heat.
5. Add a few pinches of salt, a pinch of ground black pepper, the cream, and butter to the potatoes and then mash the potatoes. You can use a potato masher, a mixer, or a large spoon to mash the potatoes.
6. When the potatoes are mostly mashed, add the sour cream and a handful of bacon, cheese, and chives.
7. Continue to mash. Add more bacon, cheese, chives, salt and pepper as desired.

Now what to do with leftover mashed potatoes? Mashed Potato Spring Rolls, as inspired by Grand Lux Cafe. Recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• Leftover Cheddar, Chive & Bacon Mashed Potatoes
• Spring roll wrappers (or egg roll wrappers)

Directions:

1. For each spring roll, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of mashed potatoes in the middle of the bottom half of the spring roll wrapper.
2. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper over the mashed potatoes, then the right corner, then the left corner. Roll the mashed potatoes towards the top corner and then fold the top corner over the mashed potatoes. Use a bit of water to seal each corner after the fold.
3. In a deep pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom 3 inches of the pan. Heat the oil until it is boiling.
4. Add a few spring rolls at a time, cooking for about 3 minutes or until the spring roll is golden and floating at near the surface of the oil.
5. Remove the spring rolls and set them on papertowels to blot extra oil

These Mashed Potato Spring Rolls are great snacks, whether you’re spending the afternoon watching football or recovering from Black Friday shopping.