@boomerang,
here's the trick to getting those Thanksgiving leftovers with less annoyance (it only took me 25 years to figure out
![Laughing](https://cdn2.able2know.org/images/v5/emoticons/icon_lol.gif)
)
you don't actually have to prepare and serve the food on any one day
neither Set nor I really care about a whole turkey so I cook a turkey breast and a bunch of turkey legs the week before Thanksgiving - make the gravy at that point. Sometimes I do the dressing at the same time - depends on what else is going on.
I like to make a layered veggie bake for faux Thanksgiving. Layers of garlicky mashed potatoes with layers of spinach with nutmeg and egg (sort of faux quiche-like) and layers of mashed squash with spices. I usually do the mash a few days in advance - I make a lot so we can have some the day its made and plenty for different leftover purposes. The squash can be prepped in advance as well. The spinach egg layers don't exist til the day the whole thing is baked. I tend to serve it Thanksgiving or the day before. This veggie layered thing is very popular with kids - they seem to ignore the fact that it's all veggies just because it looks cool.
Asparagus tends to be one of the other veggies for the leftover casserole. We have asparagus a lot - there are normally no leftovers so I have to prepare extra to create leftovers.
Sometimes I make fancy cranberry sauce, sometimes it's simply cranberries cooked into easy applesauce.
The day I want the leftover casserole I literally layer everything, toss on a little shredded tangy cheese and some melty cheese and bake it. I like it best with mash at the top and bottom, dressing in the middle near the turkey, and the cranberries above the dressing. Veggies find their place - generally between dressing and the lower layer of mash.
Given that Set doesn't like food that touches - he loves this weird combo.
Yes - there are sometimes 2 layers of mash near each other - one from the veggie layer bake - but no one's complained about that yet - and I tend to make the taters quite differently for mash than for the layered dish. Less garlic in the mash and more herbs/spices, potato skins, yogurt and cream cheese.
I have more formal recipes for casseroles but this is a fun way to have leftovers and it's popular. I have a friend who will drive hours if he knows I'm making holiday leftover casserole.