A Pinch of Geek
  • About
  • Growing Food
  • Recipes
    • Leftover Makeover
  • Preservation

Turkey Pot Pie - Level Easy

11/27/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
It is a couple of days after Thanksgiving and you are probably looking at a bunch of leftover turkey, vegetables, and gravy. I always end up with a lot of leftover turkey and gravy but the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pies are long gone.

I started turning those leftovers into easy future dinners with a little bit of planning ahead or a quick run to the grocery store. Once you have the Turkey Pot Pies all packed up, they are easy to store in your freezer for a quick dinner 2 months from now. The key here is to buy pre-cooked frozen veggies, easy roll out dough, and a packet of instant gravy on hand (just in case).

Ingredients:
A lot of this is up to you but here are my recommendations to make 6 pot pies.
- 3 containers of Crescent rolls or better yet the new dough sheets. Optional: 1 additional roll for sides
- 6 cups of mixed vegetables (I buy small bags of peas/corn/carrots, frozen potatoes, and chopped onions or you can use leftover peas/corn, Brussel sprouts, green beans, or any combination you would like)
- 5 cups of gravy (I am always a bit short so I mix my real gravy with a good instant or jarred gravy) Tip: the vegetables will "water down" your gravy, so leave it a bit thicker than usual.
- 3 cups of chopped up left over turkey
- 6 disposable pot pie tins (look in the disposable cooking pans aisle) or large ramekins if you have them
- 6 Quart size freezer bags
- Heavy duty Aluminum foil to wrap the top of the pot pies before freezing

Picture
Picture
Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl, mix all the frozen or leftover vegetables
2) Unroll the Crescent dough (I prefer this dough over pie crust for the buttery flavor and thinness of sheets) onto a cutting board, wax paper, or parchment paper
3a) Use the pot pie tin to cut out two circles of dough for each pot pie. One dough circle using the bottom of the tin and one using the top of the tin. Tip: Use a pizza cutter as your cutter rather than a knife.
3b) Repeat Steps 2 and 3a until you have 6 sets of dough circles (large and small).
4) Put the smaller circle of dough in the bottom of each tin. Optional: You can run a strip of dough along the edge as well but you will need 1 more roll of dough to cut strips and run along edges
5) Once bottom and optional sides are in each tin, sprinkle 1/4 Cup of turkey pieces into bottom of each tin
6) Add 1 cup of vegetables to each tin
7) Add 1/4 of turkey to top of pot pie tin
8) Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of gravy onto the top of each pot pie. Make sure you gently pick them up and "drop" the pot pie onto the counter a couple of times to get the air bubbles out and let the gravy settle.
9) Cover each pot pie with the larger dough circle. Press the edges around the pie to seal it in.
10) Cut small holes in the middle of the dough topper to let the steam escape when you do cook them.


Picture
For Freezing:
Carefully wrap each pot pie in tin foil and then slide into a labeled quart size freezer bag. I have kept them as long as 6 months with no problem of freezer burn. 

When Ready to Cook:
- When you are ready to cook them, remove from the plastic bag and tin foil, then place the pot pies on large cookie sheet.

- Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 mins to 1 hour. If the crust starts to get too brown, cover with tin foil while cooking. The filling is already all cooked; you are just cooking the dough. By only putting dough on the bottom and the top, you are essentially defrosting and cooking at the same time.

Tip: Stick a knife in the middle and then pull out the knife to see if the gravy and vegetables are heated all way through.

0 Comments

Garlic Bread to Caprese Panzanella Salad

7/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever gone out for a wonderful Italian dinner or just ordered in and had all this delicious garlic bread leftover? I do. A lot. I love garlic bread. With cheese, without cheese, nugget shaped, whole loaf. I am not picky. Butter, garlic, and salt on bread is amazing.

This salad is all about capturing the deliciousness of garlic bread dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I throw in a few other special twists like avocado because, really, avocado makes everything better. Fresh heirloom tomatoes grown in your back yard and fresh basil from the window box makes a quick and easy salad that uses up the garlic bread without increasing food waste.

I make one big salad with the dressing on the side and take it to work. No lettuce means it stands up well as a leftover and is perfect for my office lunch.

Alternatives to Try: Add some chopped up leftover chicken for extra protein or add a can of wash and drained cannellini beans for a healthy vegetarian option

What You Will Need:
- 1 Cup chopped up garlic bread (go for cubes about 1/2 inch per side)
- 1 cup of halved heirloom or fresh cherry tomatoes
- 1 half of a medium to large avocado (remove pit, dice, and scoop into bowl)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 Cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 Tablespoons, diced red onion
- 8-10 large leaves of fresh basil (julienne or chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon shredded parmesan
- Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
- Dressing: balsamic vinegar dressing or 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar /1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a side cup to be added just before serving (try white balsamic for better color or a flavored one like fig for a twist!)

Directions:
1. Cut and prep the ingredients as listed above.
2. Add all ingredients except dressing to the salad bowl/storage container
3. Don't add the dressing until just before you are set to eat it or the bread and stuff will get soggy.

0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.