It doesn’t matter which family house we end up in, my husband and I always end up cooking Christmas dinner. I love doing it, however I always find after prepping and cooking that giant meal that I never really want to eat it. If I’m being really honest I much prefer Christmas night and Boxing Day’s food to the main event.

Every year is more or less the same, with a tweak or two depending on what was on the Christmas menu. The below are my top two recipes, and should definitely include a healthy pinch of creative flair.

The Christmas Sandwich

Ingredients:

• Bread – I prefer granary, but whatever you like
• Cranberry sauce
• Bread sauce mayo – left over bread sauce mixed with mayo to a 50:50 ratio
• Sliced cold turkey
• Sliced stuffing or sausage meat (or both) – I make my stuffing from sausage meat with chestnuts, thyme, sage, orange zest and apricots usually.
• Left over roasted parsnips – I always roast them in honey & wholegrain mustard, so they are sticky and delicious
• Lettuce – I like little gem as it has a bit of crunch (my other half thinks this bit it not required)

Method:

1. Spread the cranberry sauce on one slice of the bread (don’t miss the edges, that’s the key to all good sandwiches), this will be our base slice.
2. Mix up the bread sauce mayo and spread it on the other side (you can’t get too much of this as far as I’m concerned).
3. Layer the turkey onto the cranberry sauce, then the sliced stuffing.
4. Top with the parsnips then season with salt and pepper.
5. Pop the lettuce and then top slice of bread on.

I always like to push a sandwich down a little to compact and scoff right away.

Boxing day bubble and squeak

I love bubble and squeak and the Christmas one is always the best, as the left over veg has had just a little more attention than your standard roast.

Ingredients

• Potatoes (or leftover mash)
• All your leftover veg – whack it all in
• Butter
• Cheese for the top

Method:

1. My mother-in-law loves mash on a roast (yep, the rest of the team think that’s weird too) as well as roasties, so we always have some left over, but if not just boil up some spuds and mash them up as your base.
2. Add the mash to a large mixing bowl, then chop up all your left over veg and mix together.
3. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
4. Once all mixed together, melt some butter in frying pan and add your veggy mix (I do this in big spoonfuls around the pan, then I smooth it out to join together).
5. Fry until the base is golden (take a sneak peaks from the side).
6. Once golden grate some cheese on top and pop it under the grill/ in the oven, until golden (and a bit crispy) on top.

Top tips

Essential for good bubble and squeak is something green – cabbage, cavolo nero (my fav), kale, sprouts (who doesn’t have a few of those hanging around, and the best bit is, they’re already seasoned).
Something sweet – I always make parsnip puree for Christmas day (parsnips, milk, garlic, nutmeg – gently boil until soft and puree up with a bit of cream), butternut squash, roasted parsnips and carrots all work.

Serve with whatever you like, we have cold meats, a poached egg and brown sauce. I almost can’t wait for the big meal to be over!

Have you got any go-to leftover dishes? Share them with us on twitter or instagram.