Using up the Turkey

I was able to follow my menus just as planned this past week, with the exception of last night (Friday). The day was long and busy and by suppertime I was “done”. We got sandwiches from the local cafe and they were delicious. However, I still have two one-gallon bags full of leftover turkey to use up.

Tonight’s supper was homemade turkey pot pie, using the recipe from Joy of Cooking, plus mushrooms. I used a little bit of the white meat that was left, plus a thigh and wing, so there is still plenty of turkey to use up. The celery and mushrooms were needing to be used, the carrots purchased fresh yesterday. I made the pastry dough, and while my pie crust is always flaky, and always tasty, it’s never pretty.

Since this recipe makes everything from scratch, it takes awhile to put together, but well worth the time. When Jess took her first bite tonight, and closed her eyes and sighed. That’s all the thanks I need.

Turkey Pot Pie (Joy of Cooking)

Basic Pie Dough (you will need 1/2 of this. I went ahead and made the  entire recipe and put the second half in the freezer.)

Sift together: 2 1/2 C flour and 1 1/4 tsp salt

Add: 3/4 C chilled shortening and 3 TBS cold unsalted butter

Cut half the shortening and butter into the flour mixture (I used my hands), until the consistency of cornmeal. Add the second half of shortening and butter and work until dough is pea-sized.

Sprinkle the dough with 6 TBS ice water. Blend the water gently into the dough just until it all holds together. If necessary, add one teaspoon to one tablespoon more ice water.

Divide dough in half, shape each into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you make the pot pie filling.

Creamed Turkey

Melt 4 TBS butter in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add 1/2 C flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for one minute. Remove pan from heat. Add in 2 C chicken stock and whisk til smooth. Whisk in 1 1/2  C milk or half and half. (I used about 1/2 C fat free half and half, and one C skim milk.)

Increase heat and bring mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly. Cook and whisk for one minute. Stir in cooked turkey, bring to simmer and cook one minute more. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Vegetables

In a large skillet, over med-high heat, melt 4 TBS butter (I used olive oil). Add in vegetables: 3 sliced carrots; 2 stalks celery, chopped; one medium chopped onion. I also added in 6 large, sliced mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir the vegetables into the creamed turkey mixture, adding in 3/4 C frozen peas.  Pour entire mixture into baking dish. Roll out pie dough to fit baking dish and place on top of filling. Tuck edges in and make several slits in dough. Brush dough with egg wash.

Bake 30-40 minutes, until dough is brown and sauce is bubbling.

Cleaning out the T'Day Leftovers

This is not the usual Turkey soup or stuffing casserole use of the Thanksgiving leftovers post. I bagged most of the leftovers and tossed them in the freezer - Greg will enjoy a small Thanksgiving feast again one busy night during the holidays, and I'll be glad I froze it!
One thing I didn't freeze was the leftover mashed potatoes. I just don't like the texture of them when they're thawed. So we ate them a few times last week, but I put a different twist on the last couple of servings.
I remembered when I was a kid and stayed with Grandma Regier over the Christmas break from school. She always had leftover mashed potatoes from our big family dinner, and would make them into potato pancakes for breakfast. So that's what I did, only these were a side for our supper of baked steak one night, then breakfast-for-supper the next.
They're pretty simple - just mix a raw egg into your potatoes, then plop them into a hot skillet with a little oil. They take several minutes to crisp up enough to be able to turn them. Just wait for it. If you try to flip them too soon, your pancake will fall apart. Then cook them several minutes on the other side. You want them nice and crispy.
For a little flavor, I added some roasted garlic to the potatoes and then garnished them with green onion the first night. The second night I just went ahead and stirred the green onion into the potatoes before I cooked them.
Now lest you think I tortured Greg by serving these two nights in a row, he actually asked to have them again. :o)