The Day After Christmas

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays with their family. For us, we got to celebrate with my extended family over the weekend and have been able to enjoy some quiet time at home this week. It used to be that I had to work the entire holiday period with just Christmas and New Year's Day off, so I am definitely thankful to be at a point where I get to spend an extended period of time at home just hanging out with my kids. It is very relaxing and we have watched movies, played games and simply hung out together.

We enjoyed our big meal for Christmas at lunch time. Since it was just the four of us celebrating, I once again went with a turkey breast. At Thanksgiving, we had a Jennie-O Oven Ready Bone-In Turkey Breast and it was so easy that I decided to do the same for Christmas. When I got to the store, they only had the Oven Ready Boneless, Skinless Turkey Breast, so that is what we went with. Just like the bone-in product, it was very easy to prepare - going right from my freezer to my oven. I definitely appreciate not having to thaw it for a few days in advance, like when I make a traditional whole turkey. I also really like that the turkey breast gives us just enough meat for the main meal and one or two leftover meals.

When it comes to leftovers, the family doesn't seem to enjoy having the same meal again, so we always mix it up. My husband enjoyed an open face turkey sandwich - white bread, piled high with turkey and mashed potatoes and covered with gravy. My kids wanted paninis, which we make on our waffle maker most of the time, and a side of sweet potatoes.

I had some bacon in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I fried up the Hormel Black Label Thick Cut Brown Sugar bacon. I prefer to buy traditional bacon and fry up the whole package, putting the balance of what was not needed in the freezer for future sandwich making. I know that I could always use a ready-bacon, but I like having some bacon fat on hand for making eggs and my kids can use it straight from the freezer for their sandwiches. The brown sugar on this bacon provided a wonderful aroma while frying and a great touch of sweet to the bacon.

Today, we used the turkey and the bacon to create Turkey Bacon Ranch Paninis (or Wafflewiches perhaps is a better name).

Simply place your slice of bread on the waffle maker, add turkey, bacon, ranch and a bit of cheese, top with another slice of bread and close the cover. Once the bread is toasted and the cheese melted, the sandwich is ready to go.

How do you use up leftovers?

No compensation was received for this post. Product samples and thought starters are provided by Hormel through the Hormel Extended Family Blogger program, in which I participate. All opinions are my own or that of my family.