Gobble Gobble Gobble

What kind of person cooks a 40-pound turkey on a hot July day?  Me of course!!

This past Christmas, my very generous boss presented everyone in the company with a gigantic frozen turkey.  Mine has been taking up an entire shelf in my freezer since then.  I finally decided to bite the bullet and cook the dang thing.  It took 7 days in the fridge to defrost, and 7 hours in the oven to cook, but here’s the final product:

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, until I faced the daunting thought of what to do with all the leftovers?  I decided on Turkey Pot Pie to use up the leftover meat.  This recipe is for a huge amount of turkey, but the recipe halves or quarters easily if you have less leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion
• 4 carrots
• 1 1/2 cups each frozen corn and peas
• 2 pounds of leftover turkey
• 4 cups of liquid (leftover gravy, or stock)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• spices to taste
• 1/2 package of frozen puff pastry, thawed according to directions on package
• 1 egg, beaten with a bit of water to make an egg wash

1. If you’re going to bake this right away, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
2. cut up leftover turkey into bite-sized pieces
3. peel and dice onion
4. peel carrots and cut into bite-sized pieces
5. heat olive oil and butter in a large stockpot over medium heat
6. when oil is hot, add onion and cook until soft and brown
7. add carrots, corn, and peas and cook for 3-5 minutes
8. add turkey and liquids to the pot, stir to combine everything
9. let the mixture simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes
10. if your mix does not get thick on its own, mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl, and add it slowly to the pot while whisking.  This will thicken up your sauce and pull everything together.
11. pour into a casserole or pie dish and let cool to room temperature
12. at this point, you can refrigerate the sauce overnight, or pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for later.
13. roll out the puff pastry until it is large enough to cover the top of your casserole dish or pie plate
14. brush the egg wash around the edge of the dish, and lay the dough on top
15. cut a few slits in the dough to allow steam to escape, and brush the top and edges with the egg wash
16. cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown and puffy, and the sauce is hot.

This is amazing comfort food, and is great for using up any leftover poultry, gravy, and veggies you may have from a holiday dinner!

What’s your favourite “holiday” meal?

More From longlegsto

• A Whole Lotta Leeks
• Here’s to trying new things!
• Comfort food: The perfect recipe to end a great weekend

Ask longlegsto To Recommend Your Posts