Many of us go all year without cooking turkey at home. Sure, we may have the occasional turkey leg at Fiesta or order turkey sandwiches for lunch, but it’s not the same as Thanksgiving turkey. And, I have to say my husband, much like the dad on “A Christmas Story,” is quite the turkey aficionado and treasures turkey left-overs.
Even when it’s not our turn to host Thanksgiving, I make a small turkey just for us. And while the first taste of that hot roasted turkey fresh out of the oven is always the best, what he’s really wanting is turkey pot pie. This recipe makes one 9-inch pie, but I usually make two. And I use the premade pie shells, but if you’re a pie crust-maker (I’m jealous!) feel free to make one from scratch!
Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2 ready-made pie crusts (the refrigerated kind)
- 1-1 ½ cups chopped leftover turkey
- 5 small white new potatoes, chopped into ½-inch cubes
- ½ large yellow or white onion, chopped
- ½ large red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ package white button mushrooms, sliced thick
- ½ cup chicken stock (or your turkey stock from your leftover turkey bones)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup Lea & Perrins® Marinade for Chicken
- ½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (or similar hard aged cheese)
- Seasonings to taste: salt, black pepper, cayenne– if not sure start with ¼ teaspoon and go from there — all the fancy chefs taste as they go.
Method
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- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- In a large bowl, microwave diced potatoes until just tender (slightly under cooked). Set aside.
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- In a large straight-sided skillet, melt butter. Add onion and red bell pepper, cook for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms, milk, Worcester sauce and seasonings to taste. Keep on low heat.
- Sift flour into the pan and stir. Add chicken stock. Stir. Adjust consistency as needed with additional stock added a little at a time; mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Turn off heat and stir in potatoes, leftover turkey and chopped pecans.
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- Line a glass pie dish with one pie crust. Add turkey mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Layer second pie crust on top and pinch edges to seal. Cut vent in pie top. Decorate top with pie crust leaves or egg wash (Optional).
- Bake 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
If not serving right away, cool completely then cover tightly and refrigerate.