Leftovers better in soup, not sandwich

Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwiches are a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers … for all of a day. Beyond that they have about as much appeal as relatives who miss the hint that dinner’s over.

This year, try something slightly more old-school — soup. In terms of doing justice to turkey and taters, nothing treats them better.

That’s because the trouble with Thanksgiving leftovers is they dry out. Quickly. And you can resuscitate mashed potatoes with milk and turkey with gravy only so many times before you end up with soup, anyway.

Combining them in a soup fixes the moisture problem. It also produces an exceptional soup, in part because the not-so-raw ingredients already are packed with so many — and so many complementary — flavors.

Mashed potatoes not only add flavor, they also thicken the soup and give it body. This recipe has enough broth to thin the soup to a creamy, but not porridgy, consistency. This is easily adjusted to your taste.

Mashed potato and turkey soup

This recipe takes 30 minutes.

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cups (8 ounces) sliced button mushrooms

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

1 teaspoon dried thyme

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 cups mashed potatoes

2 cups chopped cooked turkey

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