Can we even believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away? Where has this year gone? The old saying goes something like this “Time flies when we’re having fun …”. Apparently, I’ve been having a blast!

I’m really in the mood for Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving and I’ve been hosting  Thanksgiving dinner for the last several years. I actually have two 23-1/2 pound turkeys to pull out of the freezer to start defrosting this afternoon. Yep, that’s right, a little over 46 pounds of turkey. It’s usually a large crowd and it’s always good to have turkey leftovers. I’ve already been thinking of what I can make with all the turkey that I do have leftover … my wheels have been turning.

Dennis and I can usually be found at Einstein’s Bagel most mornings of the week where we enjoy a bagel and coffee … coffee for me, Diet Coke for Dennis. Not that I don’t enjoy a Diet Coke, I do. This morning as we were enjoying our bagel, I decided to purchase a cranberry bagel to use for a sandwich for lunch today.

That got me thinking about making this a sandwich with all the Thanksgiving goodies on it …. turkey, stuffing, apples (sometimes found in stuffing), celery (also found in stuffing), sage, and whole cranberry sauce. Doesn’t that just sound heavenly? I thought so too, which is why I came up with this sandwich idea for lunch.

First, I heated olive oil in a small saucepan and placed 4 sage leaves into the hot oil, sprinkling a tiny bit of kosher salt onto the sage.

Next, I chopped a stalk of celery, sliced half an apple and placed some whole cranberry sauce in a small dish.

This sandwich can be made using your Thanksgiving leftovers. I did not have leftover stuffing as of yet, so quickly made a box. I added the chopped celery to the stuffing once it was done. I bought the stuffing that cooks in 5 minutes, which worked out perfectly since this was for my lunch. I have quite a bit of stuffing left over, but I know Dennis will enjoy this with his dinner tomorrow night.

I started with a cranberry bagel and spread a little cranberry sauce on the bottom. On top of the cranberry sauce, I laid a few slices of turkey and sprinkled kosher salt and pepper on the top. On top of the turkey, I placed two small spoonfuls of stuffing. Over that, I laid several slices of apple. On top of the apple, I sprinkled sage that I had crisped in olive oil in a small saucepan on my cooktop.  I then added more cranberry sauce to the top slice of my bagel and placed it over the sandwich.

Oh my goodness, this was so good! If you have Thanksgiving leftovers, I’d consider making a turkey and stuffing sandwich on your favorite bread or cranberry bagel.

Ingredients

• Cranberry bagel

• turkey (2-3 slices)

• 2 spoonfuls of stuffing

• 1 celery stalk, diced and added to stuffing

• 2 tablespoons whole cranberry sauce

• 1/2 apple, sliced

• 4 sage leaves

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

• pinch of kosher salt

• pinch of fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Slice half an apple into thin slices
2. Heat olive oil in small saucepan and add sage leaves. Add a pinch of salt to the sage. Cook until sage is starting to crisp. Remove from heat.
3. Mince celery to add to stuffing, if it is not already part of your stuffing.
4. Slice bagel in half and spoon cranberry sauce onto each half.
5. Place turkey on bottom half of bagel, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Add stuffing to sandwich.
7. Top stuffing with apple slices.
8. Crumble crisped sage over apple slices.
9. Top sandwich with top half of bagel.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris