I don’t know about you, but every time I open the fridge, I’m faced with what seems like billions of little containers of leftover this and leftover that. Yesterday, when asked “What’s for breakfast?” I started searching the little containers and discovered some mashed potatoes. It got me thinking about these biscuits I used to make from an old Irish recipe for Potato Cakes. No longer having the recipe, I decided to start from scratch and memory. And really? What’s better than a warm, flavorful biscuit with breakfast?

Mashed Potato Biscuits
(makes about 12)

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour (divided)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups mashed potatoes (warm or cold)
1/2 cup milk (or soy milk)
1 large egg (lightly beaten)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375º F. Put 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl and add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine thoroughly.

Add the mashed potatoes, milk, and beaten egg. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon until the dough becomes a sticky, shaggy mass. You may want to switch to using your hands at this point – I suggest latex or nitrile gloves, but that’s just me.

Start adding additional flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, while mixing lightly, until the dough comes together in a relatively smooth ball. Try not to overwork it. The dough will still be soft and slightly sticky, but much easier to work with.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat it down with your hands to half-inch thickness. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top, and using a 3-inch round cutter, or even just a drinking glass, cut out the biscuits and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet about an inch apart. You can also line your baking sheet with a silicone liner or non-stick foil, if you prefer.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with your choice of milk, soy milk, or melted butter – just a bit – and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly golden brown.

Notes:

You’ll notice that there’s no fat in this recipe. Doesn’t need it. The potatoes keep these biscuits moist. Mine didn’t, but if your leftover mashed potatoes already contain butter, etc., all the better!

Potato Biscuits are pretty quick to throw together, and you can freeze these leftovers in a freezer bag for future use. They’re more substantial than your traditional baking powder biscuits and work great for breakfast sandwiches, sopping up gravy, or just a bit of butter and some of my Freakin’ Flamingo Five Fruit Marmalade. Just a weensy little plug?

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday for you internet-savvy holiday shoppers. You’ve got two problems: You’ve got all this leftover turkey from last week, and you don’t have a lot of time to make supper tonight.

You know what? I’m with you. I’ve got at least 6 new posts in my head (one of which I actually started to write and never quite finished), and I’ve been baking cookies. And will continue to bake cookies for the foreseeable future.

The 12 Days of Cookies Project begins tomorrow (see that badge over there in the sidebar?), and that means that, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to be baking – and posting – a different cookie recipe from the 2008 Bon Appétit Holiday Cookie-a-Day collection, everyday from December 1st (yes, that’s tomorrow! can you believe it?!?) through December 12th, along with a bunch of other bloggers. At least I’m going to give it my best shot!

I’ve also got macarons (with feet!) due for Mac Tweets on December 10th, and a new bread for the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day group due on December 15th. And oh, yeah. I’m expected to make regular appearances at my job, and get ready for Chanukah AND Christmas!

But no, you don’t care. You just want to know what to do with your leftover damn turkey. Well, you know what you’re getting? Reruns. Here are a few things from previous recipe posts to give you some ideas of what you can do with that turkey. And get your minds out of the gutter, thankyewverymuch!

The first suggestion that comes to mind is our favorite Chipotle Chicken Pizza. Simply substitute
1 1/2 – 2 cups of cooked, cut-up turkey for the chicken.

Give your leftovers an Indian flavor and try a modified version of American Chicken Curry Masala. Instead of the chicken, season approximately 3 cups of cooked turkey, saute for just a couple of minutes, and proceed with the recipe as indicated.

And here’s one that requires no modifications at all -Turkey Taco Salad!

Don’t forget – you can also slip some of that leftover turkey into your favorite pasta (try it with Roasted Garlic Spinach Pasta), or even in your favorite lasagna!

There! Are you happy now? Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for the first installment of The 12 Days of Cookies!