Using Christmas Leftovers and New Year's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

When should you throw out Christmas leftovers? ›

– After the holidays, you may have more leftovers than you know what to do with. Looking at all the leftovers, you may be considering two options: keep or toss. Food experts said that leftovers should only last three to four days, but when in doubt, you should throw them out.

The answer is simple: leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later. If you store leftovers in the freezer, they will be of best quality within 2-6 months.

Looking for prosperity? As Southern tradition dictates, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread represent pennies, dollars, and gold, respectively, so eating them together on New Year's will keep your purse full all year long.

In the South, that means a meal of collard greens, hoppin' John, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pot likker soup. For an auspicious year, we've rounded up some of our favorite traditional New Year's Day recipes. We have all the traditional New Year's recipes, from Southern-style collards to classic Hoppin' John.

Greens. This one might seem obvious, but collard greens are the color of paper money, so they're thought to symbolize a prosperous year ahead. This is especially true if eaten alongside black eyed-peas (which are round like coins) and cornbread (the color of gold).

Your guide to post-holiday food safety. Health officials recommend eating or freezing turkey and other leftovers within three to four days.

Leftovers can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away. Frozen leftovers will stay safe for a long time.

What's amazing about these old fruitcakes is that people have tasted them and lived, meaning they are still edible after all these years. The trifecta of sugar, low moisture ingredients and some high-proof spirits make fruitcakes some of the longest-lasting foods in the world.

Traditional dishes like pasties and ravioli with cabbage stuffing or dumplings with mushrooms and cabbage. Dumplings with potatoes and cottage cheese or stuffed only with mushrooms are other frequent Christmas Eve table items.

Greens, pork, and cornbread, as well as black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or beans, are some of the typical symbolic foods served on New Year's Day. When planning your dinner menu, add the Southern foods that some say bring good luck and avoid those that may do just the opposite in the new year.

Can you save leftovers twice? ›

After each reheating, leftovers will be safe in the fridge for an additional three to four days. Because the quality decreases each time food is reheated, it is best to reheat only the amount needed. Cooked foods that cannot be used within four days should be frozen for longer, safe storage.

Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. Although safe indefinitely, frozen leftovers can lose moisture and flavor when stored for longer times in the freezer.

Reheat in the microwave, on the hob or in the oven until food is piping hot. Once you've re-heated something you shouldn't chill it again. Only re-heat what you'll eat. Meat is best reheated in gravy or sauce.