I, for one, cannot believe that it is almost Thanksgiving!

In three short days families across the country will gather around dining tables laden with golden roasted (or smoked, or even fried) turkeys and all of the trimmings.

For my family, that includes mashed sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sauteed green beans with sliced almonds, fresh cranberry sauce, a green or waldorf salad, apple crisp, and pecan pie.

Thanksgiving dinner is my second favorite meal of the year.

You are probably thinking to yourself, “what could possibly top that?”

Lunch the day after Thanksgiving, my friends.

That’s right. I actually prefer the leftovers to the main celebratory meal.

It’s customary for my family to make “Gobbler” sandwiches with anything we didn’t polish off the night before (which, given the volume of food served on Thanksgiving, is often quite a bit).

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to making a Gobbler; just stuff as many leftovers as you can between two slices of hearty bread and have at it.

My ultimate Gobbler must have at least the following:

• turkey
• mashed sweet potatoes
• cranberry sauce

… but I also like to include leftover stuffing & veggies (Brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.) if I can fit ‘em in.

What could be better than Thanksgiving dinner packed into a sandwich?

The Gobbler

yield: 1 Gobbler

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread (bonus points for dried fruit & nut-studded bread!) OR 1 whole wheat tortilla/wrap
• 1-2 Tbsp leftover whole berry cranberry sauce (depending on size of bread)
• 2-4 Tbsp leftover mashed sweet potatoes (depending on size of bread)
• 2 thick slices leftover turkey breast meat (you can also use chicken), preferably organic
• handful of torn romaine, green leaf, or red leaf lettuce, preferably organic

Optional Additions:

• leftover stuffing
• leftover gravy
• leftover Brussels sprouts, green beans, or other veggies

Directions:

1. Pretty simple, folks. Pile all of your desired leftovers between 2 slices of bread!

Here are some other ideas of what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers (courtesy of fellow Key Ingredient members):

• Leftover Turkey Chowder
• Sweet Leftover Turkey Salad
• Leftover Turkey Cordon Bleu Casserole
• Leftover Turkey Soup