Gobble Gobble

So, I meant to write about Thanksgiving...turkey dinner is basically my favourite meal. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade dinner rolls...Kraft dinner (yea, you read that right. Family tradition!) pumpkin and apple pie. Yum! So good. But the problem with Thanksgiving is that I'm generally so busy running around the kitchen that I'm not taking pictures. And once I come out of the two-day food coma, I've lost the energy to remember exactly how much sugar and molasses went into the pumpkin pie this year and which dinner roll recipe I ended up using after days of perusing the net. I know..excuses, excuses.

Anyway, turkey dinner has now come and gone but in case anyone still has some leftovers (possibly in the freezer?) here's an easy recipe for a leftover turkey pie. We had it over the weekend in Collingwood and it was really nice to have the pie pre-made and just ready to pop in the oven. Especially as we were all a bit tired on Saturday from being woken up at 5am by the PUMPKIN that someone threw through the window of the chalet! Luckily the resort staff were able to get it boarded up fairly quickly so the crisis was averted.

Leftover Turkey Pie

1/2 a batch of Pie Dough
2 cups leftover turkey, shredded
2 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced (I didn't actually use any this time, but it's a pretty standard pot pie veg)
About 2 cups leftover cooked vegetables or frozen corn and peas (I used the corn and peas plus roasted sweet potatoes and some mashed squash made it in as well)
2 cups gravy
1 cup milk
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp chicken bouillon seasoning (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan or wok. Add diced onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add carrots and celery; cook until vegetables are starting to soften but still fairly firm (you should be able to poke a fork through the carrot pieces but they shouldn't fall apart).

2. Option a: if you don't have gravy, add some more butter and about 1/4 cup of flour and cook for about 5 minutes until the floury smell is gone. Slowly add about 2 cups of chicken stock until the mixture is smooth and thick.

Option b: if you do have gravy, add the gravy!

3. Add the spices and salt and pepper. If you're using the chicken bouillon, mix into the milk before adding. Add milk slowly and adjust depending on how thick you want your mixture to be. Play it by ear.

4. Add the turkey and cooked vegetables. Continue cooking until everything is thick and bubbling and looks like pot pie filling!

5. On a floured surface, roll out pie crust to fit your pan. I used a 1.5 qt casserole dish, but you can use a pie pan, or even a dutch oven or any sort of pan that is about the same size. Pour filling into the pan and roll crust on top. Tuck the edges over the casserole/pie pan and crimp or smush (whatever you need to do to make it stay up). Cut two slits into the top of the pie and bake at 350 degrees Farenheit, 190 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes to an hour until filling is bubbling and crust is golden.

6. If you're freezing, let the filling cool before you put the top on and then cover with foil and freeze. Bake as above but you may need to leave it in the oven longer (I think mine was in for about an hour and then I got impatient and turned the broiler on. Probably should have left it in for about another twenty minutes...the middle wasn't exactly piping hot)

7. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!