Editor's note: This article was originally published in November 2011, but we're bringing it back by popular demand.
Thanksgiving is a favorite foodie holiday for many reasons, one of which is that big turkey. The bird not only feeds a table-full on the actual day, but it keeps on giving in the form of leftovers.
What once seemed an afterthought, the leftover menu now is loaded with possibilities. After carving every possible shred of meat of our bird, I always like to make turkey soup. But those chunks of succulent light and dark meat also have the potential for some more creative comfort food, such as pot pies.
This year I threw my fear of pastry crusts out the window and resolved to make my first turkey pot pie. When searching for recipes, the Williams-Sonoma Individual Chicken Pot Pie recipe caught my eye on this video. What seemed a complicated and daunting task was broken down into easy steps that resulted in what I knew would be delicious.
What makes this recipe so easy is that the meat (obviously substitute turkey for the chicken) is already cooked, and the pastry is bought. The frozen puff pastry just needs to be thawed, cut to size and brushed with an egg wash.
We used a mix-match of oven-proof bowls for our family of six, and even had turkey remaining to add to the soup. Make this dish with the veggies your family likes. We left out the peas but added more carrots. You could also add corn, lima beans or sweet potatoes for a different flavor.
In addition, here are some more turkey leftover recipes:
Peggy Anne
10:37 am on Friday, November 23, 2012
Curmudgeon, here. I gave up meat 25 years ago. I'm not paying some brute to kill a harmless animal for my appetite. I've joined the vegans, but your recipes will work fine with my vegan meat alternatives from Trader Joe's. An UN turkey salad that would fool Aunt Gump in a second.