Too much turkey? Don't freeze it! And other tips from a professional

If you had your big Christmas dinner on Dec 25you may now find yourself wondering what to do with thattub of turkey or mountain ofmashed potatoes still kicking around.

Collin Gill, department head of culinary arts at Vancouver Community College, says while not everyone is keen on a repeat meal, there's of course nothing wrong with reheating a plate of all thosefamiliar foods the next day.

Still, Gill took us through some dos and don'ts of leftovers.

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Sandwiches an easy option

In his family, Gillsays, sandwiches are the easy, go-to follow-up dish.

"We eat typical hot turkey sandwiches, maybe make some fresh soft bread the next day and have a hot turkey sandwich. That seems to be a typical second meal for us."

Gill says they are also great cold if you are planning on going out skiing, for example.

Keep casseroles plain

Casseroles are also a favourite with home cooks trying to use up leftovers.

Gill says he doesn't tend to go that route, but he suggests if you are looking at tossing the Christmas dinner back in the oven, try to keep the ingredient list down.

"I can see making something like ... a fajita or something, where you just really need some tortilla shells with the turkey and a little cheese, as opposed to making something where you need a lot of additional ingredients in combination with your leftovers.

"So recipes that use minimal new ingredients ... are probably the better ones to use up leftovers," he said.

Soup smell can be trouble

Turkey soup is another standard for Boxing Day.

In his experience, though, Gill says it can often be a lot of work with little reward.

"It can be a little disappointing to the cook when people sit down to eat turkey soup that's leftover ... and they don't feel so much like eating it," he said.

"I've kind of surmised that the reason for that is that the smell of the soup has been permeating the house all day. So you've had turkey smell in the house all Christmas day ... andthen you have soup simmering all Boxing Day. By the time it's the evening on Boxing Day you're kind of turkey-smelled out."

Freezer? Don't do it!

Even if you don't feel like making anything with your leftovers right away, freezing is not a good option, according to Gill.

He says because large meals tend to sit on the table for a few hours after the feast is finished, food-borne illnessescan become a risk.

"I don't recommend having food that's been on your turkey buffet table then frozen. Especially if it's been sitting out for awhile, and that's typically the case," he said.

"If it's like the cooked turkey or particularly stuffing or anything like that, you really don't want to freeze it."

Scale back next time

Finally, Gill says if you're staring at kitchen full of leftovers and you can't see how you'll finish them all, maybe you shouldn't be cookingsuch a big bird in the first place.

"There is kind of this idea that people make large amounts of turkey for, say, a small amount of people. That's kind of like a ritual to have this grand feast. So for that reason there's always ... too many leftovers then people can actually probably use," Gill said.

"So my advice is always...reduce the amount of food being made and have leftovers for oneor twodays after, or invite more people to your dinner parties."