Recycle Your Left-over Turkey!

Hello everyone! I know I've recently done a food related post, but 'tis the season to talk about food so I'm posting another. It's been a week since Thanksgiving, and if you're like me, you made an extra big turkey so you could enjoy the left-overs, and are now wishing you had made one just a bit smaller. How do you use (Recycle!) your Thanksgiving turkey?

Last night I found a good recipe on AllRecipes (my all time favorite recipe site!) for turkey pot pie. It turned out great, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you!

This recipe didn't have a crust recipe, so I used my Mom's pumpkin pie crust (shared on my last foodie post):

Crust for TWO 8" or 9" pies (or in this case, one pie with top crust):
2 C flour, 1 tsp salt
2/3 C + 2 Tbsp shortening
4-6 Tbsp cold water

Measure flour and salt. Cut in shortening. Add water. Shape into ball, divide in half, roll out, place in pan. Save other half of dough for the top. Do not bake or prick the bottom.

Turkey Pot Pie!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I left this out since my hubby doesn't eat them)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage (I was out of this but will use sage next time!)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cups prepared turkey gravy
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (14 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained (I used left-over already cooked frozen veggies from Thanksgiving and another meal this week)
• 3 cups cooked turkey, cubed
• salt and ground black pepper to taste (optional)
• 1 pastry for a 10-inch double crust pie (see my recipe above)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onions, mushrooms, and garlic; cook until tender, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, sage, and thyme until blended. Pour in the gravy, water, and milk, stirring to blend. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the turkey and vegetables, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Line a 10 inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Pour in the turkey mixture. Roll out the other half of the dough from the crust and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Trim excess off edges with a knife. Pierce top crust in a few places with a fork. (I made some slits in the center with a knife) Cover the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil strips, and bake until crust is golden, about 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and rest 10 minutes before serving.

Yummmm! Mom's flaky pie crust was fantastic with it. This cleaned out 3 cups of my turkey, all of our gravy and veggies left over. If you still have left-over turkey, you can always freeze it and get it out later to make pasta salad, chili, sandwiches, soup, or whatever you are in the mood for! I also have a friend who boils the remains and then freezes the turkey broth to use later. My hubby also likes to simmer some chopped up turkey in a pan with gravy, and spoon it over toast for an open faced sandwich. The possibilities are endless, so don't waste your left-overs!