Cooking Through the Seasons with Chopped: Winter

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Chili

Is frozen chili taking up all your freezer space? Try making it into a mock mole sauce by blending it and serving it over a seared chop or pulled pork, like Chef Krissy Kerwin did.

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Champagne Chocolate Truffles

Let's face it: You're going to end up throwing away most of the chocolate you get between the holidays and Valentine's Day unless you put it to good use. The darker stuff pairs well with beef, so try it in a jus overtop your steak or Wellington, like Chef Mario Bacherini did.

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fresh hot baked potato with butter bacon cheese and chives topped with sour cream on a cutting board

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Loaded Baked Potato

These don't really make the best leftovers, so try dicing them and frying them into a hash like Chef Cass Quinlan-Ashford did. Put a fried egg on top and you've got a breakfast that will keep you going all day.

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Photo: Janine Lamontagne

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Hot Chocolate Mix

If you've got a bunch of these packets in the pantry, why not add them to a batter or dough? Chef Dan Gardner mixed them into his pastry dough for easy chocolate croissants.

Plus: Six Things You Can Make with Hot Cocoa Mix

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Tuna Noodle Casserole

There's no reason to waste a single bite of this comfort food classic. With a few added ingredients, leftovers of this casserole can become delicious soup dumplings, as judge Marc Murphy proved.

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Black-and-White Cookies

If you've got a batch of these or even just a few stray leftovers after a party, try blending them into a sauce for dessert, like Teen Tournament Chef Lucy Felong did. Serve the sauce over a piece of cheesecake and — voila! — you've got a gussied-up dessert.

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Chestnuts

You can easily elevate a piece of fish by searing it with a crust of chopped nuts, and that's exactly what Chef Albert Shim did with chestnuts. You can replicate the process at home with any leftover nuts and a binding agent like flour and eggs.

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Leftover Shepherd’s Pie

Make too much shepherd's pie? Mix it all up and stuff it into a wonton wrapper. Fry the wontons like Chef Connie Tran did and you'll have a delicious appetizer or party snack.

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Photo: Brent Hofacker

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Cinnamon Rolls

Elevate your day-old cinnamon rolls by slicing them and making them into cinnamon toast like Chef Mark Mata did. Better yet, make them into cinnamon French toast!

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Photo: Jose Wilson Araujo

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Candy Canes

Everyone inevitably ends up with a box of these after the holidays, but there are plenty of ways to put them to good use. Chef Jonny Giordani crushed them up to make peppermint gelato with a chocolate sauce on top.

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Babka

Babka dries out pretty quickly, but there's an easy fix for that: bread pudding. Follow Chef Andrew Scurlock's lead and bake it into a pudding with some fruit compote on top.

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Butterscotch Candy

These candies can be melted down with a little help from some milk or butter. You can make them into a sauce or even mix them into your ice cream, like Chef Anthony Paris did.

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