Chicken or Turkey Potpie with Cheddar Crust

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We spent a lovely day at my brother's house and enjoyed the chance to eat a turkey that I did not cook myself.   Even more so than usual, our family has much to be grateful for this holiday season and we are so thankful to all be healthy and back under one roof again!  

So we didn't actually have any leftover turkey this year, but still I couldn't resist trying some of our traditional post-Thanksgiving recipes.  Usually we make family favorite Turkey Tacos and  Shepherd's Pie (with turkey and mashed potatoes), but last year we got adventurous and decided to make this beautiful potpie with the leftover turkey instead.   Although we loved the tender flaky crust and deliciously savory filling, we then promptly lost the recipe and it was lost in the shuffle before I could properly document it.  Luckily I recently came across the recipe again and decided to try it again as a post-Thanksgiving supper.  We tried it with a rotisserie chicken and dried herbs (instead of fresh) this time and it did the trick just the same.   We took one bite and decided that we're definitely not letting this one get away from us again. 

Recipe adapted from:  Food Network

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara.

CRUST


2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
1/2 cup ice water
FILLING:


5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme (or 1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
6 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
2 tsp.  salt, divided
1 pkg. (10-ounces) fresh cremini mushrooms, chopped (chop them small enough and even mushroom-haters won't notice them)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white cooking wine (or chicken broth)
2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbs. dried parsley)
5 cups leftover turkey or chicken, shredded
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper


Directions: 

CRUST: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, fine salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.   Add the cheese, butter and shortening; and cut into the dry mixture with a pastry blender (or in a food processor) until the butter and shortening are in pea-size chunks.  

Add 1/2 cup ice water and stir together just until the dough starts to come together (do not overwork the dough). Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. (NOTE:  I  refrigerated the dough just during the time it took to make the filling.)

FILLING:  Melt the butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, thyme, celery, carrots and  1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 6 more minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Add the cooking wine (or chicken broth); cook until almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the broth, cream and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes. Add the parsley, shredded turkey/chicken, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer filling to a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Roll out the crust dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper until slightly larger than the baking dish.

Drape the dough over the filling, press it against the inside of the dish and trim.

Brush with cream, then cut a few slits in the top.

Put on a baking sheet; bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 35 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.


Enjoy! 

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Thanksgiving dinner for two, in less than an hour

I'm thankful that I normally have the whole day to cook and plan out my Thanksgiving dinner. However, I know that there are many out there who have to work, or don't have family close by to be with. Or maybe it's just you and your significant other so you don't want to make a big huge meal. Well, here is an easy Thanksgiving dinner for two, in under an hour. You can still have your stuffing, turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin and not stress about being at work or not having the time to cook.
The Ingredients for the turkey:
2 small turkey breasts (these turkey breasts were the size of a large chicken breast)
1 can turkey gravy
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (or more to taste)
2-3 celery stalks
1 small onion
butter for sauteing onions and celery
1 tsp orange zest
1 pkg of your favorite stuffing mix

The ingredients for the sides:

2 good sized potatoes
1 bag ready to use salad (your favorite kind)
1 loaf french bread or package of brown and serve rolls
1 can cranberry sauce (jelly or whole)
or whatever you like to eat for your Thanksgiving

(sorry I forgot the picture, but you get the idea!)

The Ingredients for the pumpkin spice custard:**

15 oz can pumpkin
2 eggs (ignore the 4 in the picture)
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (or less depending on your taste)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of nutemeg
1/4 c molasses
1 c milk
6 ramekins 

The Directions:
The night before or the morning before you eat, soak your turkey in a brine. Mine fit in a 8 c Tupperware with about 4 c of water, 2 tbsp salt, and about 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning. You can also add a couple tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 tsp orange zest for added flavor. This will help your turkey retain some of its moisture while baking.  Let soak in the brine overnight or at least for 6 hours.

When it's time to bake, turn on oven to 350 degrees. Scrub and poke your potatoes. When the oven is ready put them in. These will take the longest to cook as they will take about 30-45 minutes.

Read the instructions on your stuffing and follow the directions for two servings. Mine called for 1/4 c chopped celery and 1/4 c chopped onion. Melt butter in pan and sauté onions and celery until almost soft (about 5 minutes). Add the stuffing (for 2 servings) to the butter mixture (my stuffing called for 2 cups of the mix). Mix well. Mix 1/4 of the can of turkey gravy and 1/2 cup of water and add it to the stuffing mixture to moisten it.Spread 1/4 of the can of gravy on the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan. Place the turkey breasts on top and rub with poultry seasoning and salt. Zest 1 tsp of the orange over the chicken breasts.
Pour the rest of the 1/2 can of gravy over the turkey breasts and then top it all off with the stuffing.Cover with tin foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. My turkey breasts were thin so they were definitely ready by then. If you need to, then insert in a meat thermometer and cook until the temperature reaches 165 degrees or the juices run clear. If you want the crispy top of your stuffing, then remove the foil during the last 10 minutes of the cooking time.

Once the turkey/stuffing is in the oven, start on the pumpkin custard. Grease 6 ramekins. (this recipe will make 6 or so, but let's face it, who's really going to stop at one?!)

In a medium bowl add the pumpkin, the sugar, the spices, the 2 eggs and the molasses. (hint: spray the inside of your measuring cup before measuring the molasses to make it easier to come out). Blend well. Add the milk and blend slowly until it's all mixed in. Pour into the greased ramekins. Place ramekins on another rack in the oven (like the rack with the potatoes) and bake for 20-30 minutes. (until a toothpick comes out clean. The custard will start to pull away from the edge a little.)
*IF you want an entire pie, this recipe will fill 1 deep dish pie crust (plus a ramekin or two, ) OR 2 smaller pie crusts. My favorite prepared crust is Mrs. Smiths frozen deep dish. Just keep in mind that it will push you over the hour limit, but put the pie in the oven when the potatoes and turkey come out and you will be able to smell the pie cooking while eating dinner.

Directions for entire pie:  Increase the temperature to 425 degrees. Put pie in the oven and after 15 minutes reduce heat back to 350 degrees.(without opening the oven door)  Continue cooking for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.

** A quick note about my pumpkin pie recipe. This is my mother's and I grew up with this one my whole life. However, it does not have that major pumpkin flavor. While it is definitely pumpkin, all the added spices and molasses makes it more of a gingerbread flavor pumpkin pie. But I love it, because I'm not too keen on the whole squash flavor of pumpkin by itself.

If you're just using the ramekins, then when ready to serve, add some whipped cream and a gingersnap cookie, if desired.While the pumpkin custard and the turkey are cooking, prepare your salad, set the table, pour your cranberry jelly into a bowl (heat if desired), and then relax until the timer goes off.

When your timer goes off and everything is cooked (test temperature of turkey and clean toothpick in pumpkin) then remove it all and prepare to eat. In one hour you have made two turkey breasts cooked in turkey gravy, with stuffing, 2 baked potatoes, salad, cranberry sauce, and a bunch of little single serving crust-less pumpkin pies. No stress. Not a ton of clean up. And plenty of time to spend with your loved one, your friend, or your football game.

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Cranberry Tip-Top Salad

Every year for Thanksgiving dinner we used to eat this cranberry salad at my grandma's house. I'm not sure where she got the recipe nor do I know why she always called it "Tip-Top". All I do know is that now I always serve it at my Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and it will always remind me of my grandma. Oh, and it tastes great too! I love the sweet of the cream cheese and cream mixed with the tart of the cranberry. Of course, I took a good thing, and made it better, because that's how I roll. So here is my grandma's traditional Cranberry Tip Top done my way. I hope it becomes one of your holiday traditions as well.

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Jen. 

The Ingredients:
2 cans cranberry jelly (not whole)
3 Tbsp orange juice (squeezed from 1/2 orange)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)
1/2 c powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange
8 oz Cool Whip
chopped walnuts, optional

The Directions:
Beat together softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and powdered sugar until smooth. Zest orange over bowl (just the orange part!). Mix well together.
Fold or stir in the Cool Whip so that it is all incorporated. (now I've got "Kids Incorporated" theme running through my head.Ha! Now, so do you! Is that showing my age?!) Moving on...
*At this point you would mix in some nuts if you are using them. My grandma always used chopped walnuts, but A. I don't like Walnuts and B. My son has a severe nut allergy, so I never use them. Your choice. I'd use maybe a 1/2 cup.

Spread mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure that the plastic wrap touches the creamy layer. Place into freezer for about 1 hour and make cranberry mixture.
Pour 2 cans of cranberry jelly into a bowl and squeeze the juice out of 1/2 the orange you zested. Beat until smooth and there are no cranberry jelly lumps.

Spread over the frozen cream mixture. Again cover with plastic wrap and make sure that the plastic is touching the cranberry layer. Freeze until ready to serve.



Fancy Version:
If you have a Bundt pan or other fancy looking bowl, you can make this inverted to have a beautiful salad presentation at your holiday table. Just reverse the order of doing everything. Place the cranberry mixture on the bottom of the Bundt pan and freeze. Then put the cream layer on top and again cover and freeze. When serving, place Bundt pan in bowl of hot water to loosen the frozen salad, and invert onto a plate. This way you have the cranberry on top!

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Oreo Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Anyone who's been following along with our cooking adventures for long, knows that both me and my blogging partner, Jen love making fun food for our kids!  I had made these Oreo Turkey Treats with my kids a few years ago and these Turkey Cupcakes last year, but when I saw these cute little treats at Our Best Bites, I just couldn't resist.  Not only are they super cute, but I loved their idea of sticking little name placards on them and making them into Thanksgiving table place holders.  Don't stress about them being too fragile, I was surprised at how sturdy they were after the icing set up.   

Recipe Source:  Our Best Bites

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:


(amounts needed per turkey)
2 Double Stuff Oreo cookies (getting the double stuff variety is important, so that there's room to put the candy corn feathers)
Chocolate Frosting (I like to use the cookie icing from the baking aisle)
6 candy corns (5 for tail feathers, 1 for the beak)
1 miniature peanut butter cup
1 Whopper candy
Yellow frosting (I recommend the "writing icing" from the baking aisle)
Red frosting (I recommend the "writing icing" from the baking aisle)

Directions:  Take one Double Stuff Oreo and squeeze in a small amount of the chocolate icing in between the 2 cookies (but without taking them apart) and about half way around the Oreo.

Gently insert 5 candy corns into the icing.  

Put some chocolate icing along the top edge of the other Oreo and "glue" it with the icing perpendicular to the Oreo with the candy corn feathers.  Set aside and allow icing to harden (5-10 minutes). 

Trim off the edge of the miniature peanut butter cup, so that there's a flat edge.

Place some chocolate icing along the cut flat edge and the back of the peanut butter cup. 

Place the peanut butter cup onto the Oreos as shown, to become the turkey body.  (I don't think it really matters which way the peanut butter cup goes.  One of my kids put it on upside down and the rest of us put them on right side up.  Either way, I thought they turned out cute.)  

Put some frosting on the back of the Whopper candy and place above the peanut butter cup, to become the turkey head. 

With the yellow icing, pipe eyeballs onto the Whopper.  Cut off the tip of the remaining candy corn and with some icing, "glue" it to the Whopper head to become the beak.

  With the red icing, pipe a wattle (the red thingy hanging from its neck). 

Sit the turkeys upright and with yellow icing, draw legs and feet onto the bottom Oreo. 

Now put them out where people can oooo and awwww over how cute they are!   

Try them with little name placards on toothpicks sticking out with the tail feathers for place settings at the Thanksgiving table.   

Enjoy! 

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