Thanksgiving Leftovers Makeover

Stuffing Waffle

I am usually very happy to eat leftovers as they are, reheated, without turning them into something else.  However, there are a couple of items I don't much care for, and that includes bread-based stuffing!  I will make corn bread stuffing if I am cooking a Thanksgiving type meal for others, but, it isn't something I would normally eat, even if I make it.

When friend S brought me some Thanksgiving dinner, the other day,  not only had she stuffed the half of the roasted game hen, but, she had also included a container of stuffing.  It looked delicious with bits of bacon and dried cranberries added to it, and I tried a spoonful of it, but, I still didn't much care for it.  

However, I am determined not to waste any food, especially during this time when so many are going hungry.  So, I searched for various suggestions for using leftover stuffing.  I found several, but, I wasn't sure if I would like the end results.

One suggestion was to use the stuffing instead of bread crumbs when making turkey meatballs, and that sounded quite reasonable to me.  The seasonings in the stuffing would flavor the meat and it would be quite good, I thought.  So, I froze a small baggie of stuffing to use when I next make meatballs. 

Another suggestion was making waffles with the stuffing and that sounded good to me.  I like to eat waffles with curry, etc., as a savory dish, in addition to eating it with syrup.  So, today, I decided to try making waffles with leftover stuffing.  I read a couple of recipes and watched a couple of videos online.  Then, I decided to attempt it, my way!

I put about 1 cup of the leftover stuffing into a mixing bowl (as usual, I didn't measure, so all amounts, except for the egg, are approximations) and added 1 egg to bind it and a little milk to make it of a batter like consistency.  Then, because I still wasn't sure if I would like the end result, I decided to add a little of the boxed pancake mix I use - maybe 1/2 a cup or a little less.  

This is what the batter looked like:

Stuffing Waffle Batter

After that, it was a matter of heating up the waffle iron (I used the medium setting) and buttering it (the recipes I read said to spray with cooking spray or grease with cooking oil - I don't use cooking spray and my waffle iron has not performed well with cooking oil for some reason).  I poured the batter and smoothed it around a bit, although not to the very edges (at least one recipe I read said the stuffing batter won't spread and you had to spread it to desired diameter, but, since I added a little of the pancake mix to mine, I think it spread a little bit).  Then, baked each waffle until the indicator light went off; the waffle was nicely browned and crisp.  I was able to make three waffles with the amount of batter I made, but, one was all I was able to eat (I found it to be very filling).  These waffles turned out to be quite delicious!  They were savory for the most part, but, there was a very pleasing bit of sweetness when I bit into a dried cranberry.

Stack of Stuffing Waffles

I am very pleased with how this experiment turned out!  I will definitely make more of these savory waffles with the rest of the leftover stuffing that I have!  

Today, I am grateful for finding a delicious way to use up leftover stuffing that I don't normally like!  

What is your favorite way to use up leftover stuffing?