For chef Jess Rice, Christmas dinner is all about the leftovers. “I always go for a little more turkey than I have guests,” says Budget Bytes‘ senior recipe developer, Neil Young’s private chef and a former chef-instructor at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. “My family really is a leftovers family.”

Rice may have cooked for Canadian rock royalty since 2016 and toured the country with the likes of Pearl Jam, but being budget-conscious and reducing food waste is “ingrained in everything.” One of Rice’s favourite recipes featuring leftover turkey is her colleague Marsha McDougal’s turkey sliders. A butter glaze brushed on top transforms it from a typical turkey sandwich to something special.