I Promised

So, here it is. What I decided to do with the leftover turkey was make a potpie. This potpie was a little different from the way I normally make it. Usually, I use biscuits, crescent rolls, or puff pastry on top as well as frozen veggies. I decided I didn't want that. I wanted something that said that this are some tasty Thanksgiving leftovers. What to do, what to do, what to do?



Here's my basic recipe:

2-3 cups of diced/chopped/shredded chicken or turkey


2 cans cream of (chicken, mushroom, celery, whichever one you like)

1 pkg. frozen mixed veggies (again, I'm not pick about which one I'm getting)

1 potato diced into half inch pieces (parcook the potato, I learned that the hard way)

1 half med. onion diced similarly to the potato

1 can chicken broth (using the cream of soup can), milk or white wine

salt, pepper and whatever spices you like (sage, thyme and dill are my faves)

1 can of biscuits, crescent rolls or one sheet of puff pastry

Mix first seven ingredients together in a stockpot on medium. Bring to a boil (I'm using the term loosely here). You want everything in the pot to get to know each other. Takes about fifteen minutes or long enough to finish cooking the potato. Once done, spread everything in a 9x13" baking dish and top with crust of your choice. You'll bake until biscuits etc. are golden, brown and delicious.

I happened to top my last pot pie with prepared stuffing. It was so good. There are lots of things you can do with that leftover turkey. This is one of my faves. Share yours. You can never have too many turkey recipes.

What to Do With the Leftovers

I guess it really depends on what you have leftover. Also, you should take into consideration whether or not you really like what's been left for the bottom feeders. No offense meant to any bottom feeders reading this post. Let's say you had a 20 pound ham and you've got fifteen pounds of it left. What are you going to do? I mean really, how many ham sandwiches can you eat without putting your blood pressure at risk or your sweet swelling to Fred Flinstone proportions?

Cooked ham freezes really well. I'd cube some to make a nice potato and cheddar soup. Diced ham is a great addition to macaroni and cheese. Turns a wonderful side dish into a hearty one pan meal. If you have a sturdy KitchenAid mixer with the grinder attachment, send some ham through for a fine textured ham salad.

I chose option two for my ham leftovers. I added some diced ham to this mac&cheese recipe from RecipeZaar.com. I needed to add a little milk to it as it was really stiff after the addition of the ham. I also topped mine with buttered breadcrumbs and bacon bits. It got rave reviews and every bit of it was gone in two days.

Tell me what you do with your holiday leftovers. Stay tuned and I'll tell you what I'm going to do with the rest of the turkey.