Thanksgiving Leftovers
Well Turkey went off without a hitch. The turkey was great and was actually finished cooking a whole hour earlier then expected! So Evan and I made a mad dash to get all of the sides done and ready was ready before our guests even arrived…how that for timing! I think everything worked out perfectly and it made for a really nice day. Though I must say I was plain pooped when we finally cleaned everything up and plopped on the couch. Needless to say I was not up at 5am for the sales…I actually didn’t get into the shower until noon and I had already received two calls from my sister who was braving the malls in VA.
We don’t have a huge amount of leftovers left but I thought I would do myself a favor and get rid of some leftovers and make some dinners while I was at it. My Mother in Law told me about this great site 30DayGourmet which has a ton of make ahead and freeze meals…something that I cannot live without these days! So I thrilled to find this recipe that utilizes a lot of my leftovers and even better, it makes two batches! So they are ready for the freezers to later be reheated during a busy week. If you don’t want to deal with the pie crust, try topping it with puff pastry or even easier, a can of refrigerated biscuits…what could be easier!
Make Ahead Turkey Pot Pie
makes 2 pies
1 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped celery
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. flour (I only used about 6 tablespoons)
2 c. broth
1 c. evaporated milk
(I also added about 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese)
4 c. diced cooked turkey
1 c. frozen peas or corn
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 pie crusts
Assembly Directions:
Sauté onions, celery and carrots in butter in a large skillet over medium heat until tender. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and evaporated milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken, peas, salt and pepper.
Freezing and Cooking Directions:
Cool and divide filling in half. Freeze in one gallon freezer bags. Keep frozen pie crusts on hand.
To serve: Thaw filling. Bring pie crusts to room temperature. Shape bottom pie crust/s. Add filling. Cover with top crust. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together and then flute or crimp. Make a few slits in the top crust for the steam to escape.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350°. Then bake covered with foil for 30 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
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November 27th, 2006 16:40
after reading your post, I looked up a bunch of stuff about freezer cooking. I might give it a shot this week.