Monday, March 31, 2008

Leftovers by any other name …

During a large family dinner my sister-in-law announced, “My husband doesn’t like leftovers.” To which my mother responded, “Oh, I don’t believe that.” (Mom meant, my brother pretty much eats anything that doesn’t move and we always ate leftovers growing up.)

My brother sat in the middle of the two women looking sheepish. How else can you look when your mother & wife are disagreeing on your dining preferences over your dinner plate? In my mother’s defense, my brother was devouring Turkey Pot Pie, made with the leftover turkey and any and all fixings from the previous day's dinner, clearly leftovers. In my sister-in-law’s defense, we always ate leftovers growing up. My house was really like that joke about no one actually remembering the original meal. And when there was an original meal, it was already dry and overcooked, so you can imagine how much we all looked forward to those leftovers, even my brother who was fairly indiscriminate about his food.

Anyway, we took pity on my brother and hijacked the conversation to discuss how we each deal with leftovers in our own homes — truly a great strategy for getting a quick meal on the table. One of my sisters said her family actually looked forward to “Make Your Own Plate Night.” She puts out whatever’s in the fridge, and — this is the important part — her only rule is you must choose one protein and one vegetable, other than that, you can choose whatever you like. I do the same thing, but I call it “Leftover Night.” When I tested out “Make Your Own Plate Night” tonight, it was met with much better results. Go figure.

The other thing I try to do is make a new meal out of an old meal, thus the turkey pot pie that was being eaten during the conversation in question. It's easy and healthy and my family always eats it with gusto.

Turkey pot pie
Tender turkey with vegetables in a creamy sauce and a flaky crust—ultimate comfort food!

1 puff pastry sheet
6 T butter
6 T flour
½ t pepper
1 14½ oz can chicken broth
½ c milk
1 thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste
4 c turkey, cooked and diced
2 c carrots*
1 10 oz. package frozen peas and onions*
Preheat oven to 425°.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir until combined and cooked into a roux, about 5 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth and milk and continue stirring. (If you’re making it from a leftover turkey dinner, add any leftover gravy at this point too.)

Once all the milk and broth have been incorporated, add thyme sprig. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Place turkey and all veggies into 2-qt casserole dish. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over turkey and veggies. Top with puff pastry. (Can be wrapped in foil and plastic at this point, and frozen to cook at a later date. To cook after freezing, defrost in the refrigerator the day before you plan to eat, and continue with baking.)

Bake at 425° for 30-35 minutes.

Cover with aluminum foil if crust starts to get too brown.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green salad.

*Whenever possible, I use leftover veggies of any kind. That’s what makes it a true pot pie. When prepare it for clients, I have to use fresh or frozen veggies because I have no leftovers.

Variations: Chicken Pot Pie: Use leftover roasted chicken from your own oven, or from your grocer’s rotisserrie.
Crustless Pot Pie: Rather than using puff pastry as a top crust, use mashed sweet potatoes. It’s a yummy, low-carb alternative.
Dairy-free: Omit the milk, and increase the chicken broth by ½ cup.

2 comments:

  1. Can the puff pastry be used as a crust on the bottom?
    I usually top my pot pie with mash potatoes but I liked your puff pastry better then a pie crust. Do you think it would work or would the pastry get too mushy?

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  2. I only use a crust on the top of my pot pie. I think you're right, I think puff pastry would just stay gooey on the bottom, unless you prebaked it as you would for lemon meringue pie or something like that, but that just seems like too much work. You know me, simplify, simplify, simplify.

    Does your family really prefer a bottom crust on their pie?

    Another option is to bake little puff pastry disks or squares and use them as a bottom (boat) for the pot pie filling ... kind of like a chicken or turkey a la king.

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