Well, we are officially in the post-Thanksgiving phase of the holiday season. Now is the time that Americans everywhere have fridges full of leftovers but somehow nothing to eat when they come out of their tryptophan-induced comas.
This is the part of the month of November that I like to call “Chopped: Thanksgiving Special”. How does one make creative dishes from the oodles of random leftovers in the fridge without defaulting to the turkey-stuffing-cranberry sauce-gravy abomination that is called a sandwich? One solid option: the pot pie.
The best part about this bad boy is that you can literally throw in a bunch of leftover veggies and chunks of turkey, slather it in gravy, cover it in some pie crust and voila! Leftovers that don’t make you want to cry mashed potato tears. Considering that my family members devoured it through out the course of the day and left none when dinner rolled around, I’d say it was a success.
Serves 6-8 hungry people.
Kitchen Tools: rolling pin, baking dish, pastry brush
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup chopped turkey breast or thighs
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
- 2 cups chopped leftover vegetables (cooked)
- 3/4 cup gravy
- 1 pie crust (peep this recipe to make your own)
- 1 egg
- salt + pepper to taste
Prep Work:
Preheat oven to 425*F. Chop up all the turkey and vegetables. Spread mashed potatoes around bottom of the baking dish and arrange vegetables + turkey on top. Season with salt + pepper then pour gravy over everything. Even it all out with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Roll out pie crust.
Arrange pie crust on top of the veggie/turkey mixture and crimp edges however you like! You can even let it hang over the side a bit if that’s your jam. Whisk egg with a fork and brush it over the top of the pie crust.
Cooking:
Bake pot pie for about 30 – 40 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown and the filling is starting to boil. Voila! The easiest pot pie EVER.
Tips + Tricks:
*The cooked veggies I recommend using: carrots, brussels sprouts, parsnips, cauliflower, sweet potatoes/yams, broccoli, or peas. Basically anything that holds its shape when roasted is a good option.
*This recipe is all about winging it. You really don’t need to measure out all the ingredients since everything except the pie crust is already cooked. Just layer up your favorite leftovers and pour some gravy over the top. You can even throw in some stuffing if you’re feelin’ it.
