Upgrade Leftovers with Avocados

Thanksgiving festivities are over and great memories were made … as was a huge amount of food. What to do with the mountain of leftovers? The prospect of eating turkey and mashed potatoes for the next few days seems daunting and certainly monotonous, but you don’t want to waste any food.

How about we give Thanksgiving leftovers a twist with some avocado? (This video will help you pick the perfect avocado — and it’s easier than you think: All you have to do is give the fruit a gentle squeeze!). Playing with your food is frowned upon, but being playful and creative in the kitchen is not. Let’s start creating amazing dishes!

Upgrade your favorite turkey salad with chopped Avocado From Mexico and use some to stuff dinner rolls for your kids’ lunch boxes. You can also make a variation on a Latin American classic, salpicón de ave, a cold chopped salad with turkey, potatoes, chopped sweet red pepper, hard boiled eggs, and avocado mayonnaise or avocado aioli. You can serve this as a side dish or as the main entreé, paired with warm tortillas.

Use up your leftover sweet potatoes in a brunch hash with chopped onion and bacon. Top it off with a fried egg and a dollop of avocado cream (simply pulse avocado, salt, pepper, and lime juice in a food processor). You’ll maybe wish those leftovers lasted even longer!

Too many mashed potatoes? Turn them into pancake-shaped croquettes. Mix with one beaten egg, shredded Cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Drop dollops on a hot griddle and fry until golden. Serve with sliced Avocados From Mexico and a poached egg.

Go classic with a turkey BLT sandwich, layered with thinly sliced turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados (this video shows you how easy it is to slice them), bacon, and mayonnaise. Alternatively, you can replace the mayo with a mashed avocado and lime juice sandwich spread. Make corn salsa with leftover corn on the cob kernels, chopped jalapeño, and tomato, and use it to spice up a turkey and avocado wrap with shredded cheese.

The crisp fall weather is ideal for hearty soups. While Mother Nature works her magic outside and trees turn russet, red, and yellow, you can create your own magic in the kitchen for your family. Finish off Southwestern turkey soup, made with shredded leftover turkey, tomatoes, green chiles, cumin, and cayenne pepper, with fresh Avocado From Mexico and cilantro.

If you have any more roasted sweet potatoes left after that brunch hash, use them for a fantastic soup with sautéed onion, chicken broth, ground cumin, and chipotle powder. Remove from heat, let it cool, add one avocado and blend. You can use leftover corn on the cob in a delicious soup, too. Just chop and sauté red sweet pepper and onion, and add broth, corn kernels, and shredded turkey. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

You’re now ready to tackle the post-Thanksgiving fridge!