After Thanksgiving many of us are tired of turkey and stuffing, especially if we’ve had it for a few days. I know when I was younger there was little variation with Thanksgiving leftovers. However, as I got older, and started having holidays at my own home, I didn’t want to waste the food. So I experimented. Below will be a recipe for easy turkey pot pie with Thanksgiving leftovers.
Maybe you had a big turkey this year too. Perhaps every Thanksgiving you get a big turkey. But I try to plan accordingly, so I don’t end up with a lot of leftovers, because I don’t like the waste. Sometimes I feel like I was raised during the Great Depression. Between my dad and my maternal grandparents, being frugal is ingrained in me.
I know I could give what’s left to my chickens, (before it’s spoiled) though, that still seems wasteful. And this year when we bought our bird, we had to go to 3 different stores. Not by choice, by necessity, unfortunately. But we couldn’t find anything smaller than 19 lbs, which means a lot of leftovers.
Anyway, this really is an easy recipe. Mostly because the turkey is already cooked. I based it off of chicken pot pie, but I just substituted turkey for chicken and added mashed potatoes.
Ingredients for Turkey Pot Pie using Thanksgiving leftovers:
- 3 c shredded or cubed cooked leftover Thanksgiving turkey
- 3 c leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes or fresh mashed potatoes
- 1 1/2 c cooked green beans or mixed vegetables
- 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
Instructions for easy Turkey Pot Pie with Thanksgiving leftovers:
- Preheat oven to 425 and grease 13″x9″ pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Then melt some butter in a dutch oven or 4 1/2 quarts size pan before adding the turkey. Stir and add the potatoes, veggie, and condensed soups.
- Also, you can add salt and pepper to taste at this point, if you want. But I feel like it already has enough, since it’s leftovers, and plus the condensed soups. However, it’s up to you.
- Next, pour or spoon the mixture into your prepared pan.
- And unroll the refrigerated pie crusts, one at a time, and cover the mixture.
One crust will cover ~ half of the pan; the other will cover the other half. Though, it won’t look perfect. But if you want it to be perfect, you can make a crust.
- Using a fork, prick the pie crusts thoroughly to allow steam to escape, and put the pot pie into the oven.
- Bake at 425 for 15 mins; then lower the temperature to 350 for ~40 mins.
Add foil to the edges of the crust when it gets golden brown to prevent it from burning. The pot pie is done when the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
There are other ways to make new meals out of your Thanksgiving leftovers. I still had plenty of turkey even after making the pot pie. So I bagged up the rest and put it in the freezer. And one of these days I’ll make soup. Or maybe chili. Check this out for more ideas.
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Chicken Girl 