Well hello my lovelies! Here I am back again, almost all Chrimboed out and raring to go for New Year. What's that you groan? No more? Stuffed to excess are we? Fear not peeps, there's some great ways to use up your leftovers here.

Kyle's Terrific Turkey
First up, we have a fab little recipe for using up any leftover chicken, turkey and cream. The recipe actually uses uncooked chicken, but you can substitute cooked meat, and cut down the cooking time if you wish. This little gem is actually my youngest son's own recipe, that he invented all by himself. I'm a proud Mamma don't you know!

What you need:
2 chicken breasts, sliced (or cooked chicken/turkey)
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp garlic puree (or 2 cloves of crushed garlic)
1 onion, sliced
125ml double cream
10 small mushrooms, sliced
1 small bottle white wine (125ml - about 2½ medium-sized glasses)
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil for frying

To serve:
garlic and herb pasta
garlic bread

Put the oil in a pan and once hot, add chicken and cook for 7-10 minutes, turning regularly.* When the chicken is ready add the onion, tarragon, garlic and mushrooms and cook for two minutes.

Add the wine and simmer, stirring regularly until reduced and starting to thicken. When the liquid is reduced, add the cream, salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, as the cream will thicken the sauce, and then simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and fresh pasta.

*If you are going to use cooked meat, start by frying off the other ingredients, and add the meat before the wine etc, so that it has time to take on the flavours.

Enjoy!!

Serves 4

Leftovers Soup
If you are planning a party for New Year, in addition to nibbles, you could go for a nice warming hearty vat of seasonal veg soup bubbling away. You could either serve it as a sit-down snack or in heatproof cups or mugs to warm your guests when they arrive. It's also a wonderful way of using up that leftover veg that you bought far too much of, and the inevitable excess meat too.

What you need:
1 swede
4 medium sized carrots
2 medium onions
4 potatoes
2 leeks
2-3 parsnips
4-6 ounces celeriac
1½ pt vegetable stock
tsp mixed herbs
salt & pepper to taste

Peel and chop all the vegetables. Lightly fry the onion with the herbs in a heavy-based large saucepan for around 4 minutes until softened, then add the chopped vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes or so. Add the vegetable stock (you can use either stock you have made or, for ease, a stock cube) and enough water to cover all the vegetables. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about an hour, until the vegetables have softened.

At this point, it's up to you whether you blitz the soup in a blender, or leave it chunky - either is fine. Personally, I blitz, it's very satisfying. If you don't have a blender, a potato masher does an excellent job.

Your hearty veg soup is now ready, and can be reheated later for your party.

You can add your leftover cooked meat to the soup after blitzing if that's the option you go for. Or you can add meat to half the soup and offer a veggie alternative, and if you have any unused stuffing, you can add that too. What a host/hostess you will be!

Wren's New Year Punch
No party or get-together at New Year would be complete without something nice to drink with all that lovely food. So here's a little recipe for a super punch. You can make enough for 2-4, 6-8 or lots and lots of people depending on the size of your receptacle! Now, I will admit that the last time this was made it was for ummm... several many people. You just have to adjust the amounts of alcohol required, or make a whacking big lot and just bottle what's left over to have in the next few days.

As for the punch bowl, well of course you can use a real Punch Bowl, but if you're making a huge great batch, as we did, you might find a rather nice, very clean, large bucket will suffice!

What you need:

1 bottle of country wine, Strawberry/Raspberry (Gales used to do a smasher, but any brand will do) or use home made wine instead
1 x 75cl bottle of vodka
2 x 500ml cans of good cider
2 litres of lemonade
2 litres of orange juice
2-3 large oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Ice cubes

Method
Put it all into your chosen receptacle and mix!

ADVISORY! Please alert your guests to the perils of eating the fruit that has been steeped in the punch! The alcohol content will be increasing in the fruit.

Alcohol-Free Cocktail
Now, not all of you will want the alcohol will you? For you guys I have a super little cocktail that looks lovely and tastes divine.

What you need:
A wine glass (preferably with sugar around the rim, but that's optional!)
1 tblsp grenadine (you can get it in most places, it's made from pomegranates)
Orange juice
Lemonade

Put the grenadine in the glass and swish it around a little, then carefully add the orange juice to 2/3 full, top up carefully with lemonade, add any decoration you fancy and there you go!

Please though, remember that although parties are great fun, and everyone will enjoy a drink or two, you should drink responsibly. The New Year is a new beginning, the start of many new things, and the waving goodbye to past woes and sorrows, so take care with the booze my friends, make sure to drink at least a pint of water for every pint of beer or two shorts, or one punch. You don't have to drink everything on offer in the first hour. Also make sure you know how you are getting home and with whom. Keep an eye on younger members of the party, and please, if you're out somewhere you don't normally go, or with people you don't know too well, don't leave your drink unattended. Lastly don't ever drink and drive, not ever, full stop. Lecture over.

Have a super New Year, keep safe, have a great time with friends and family, and I'll be back next time, with some more lovely recipes for you.

© Karen Dobbin 2008