Sunday, November 30, 2014

What the crap to do with all the leftover turkey (or, Cheesy Turkey (or Chicken) Mini Pot Pies).

I don't know about you, but I swear you could still build a whole turkey out of the leftovers in my fridge.  And now that my in-laws have headed back home, it's left to our little family to finish it all.

The problem is, my one-and-a-half-year-old still has FPIES and can't eat a turkey that's touched the grain in flour and stuffing, my three-and-a-half-year-old has the appetite of a bird, I don't like meat unless it tastes like something else, and Casey--my usually dependable garbage disposal for all things left over--strongly prefers dark meat.

Which left us with a tub of about ten pounds of white meat.  So we had the idea of freezing it, and substituting it by the handful in one of my favorite go-to dinner recipes: cheesy chicken mini pot pies.

Cheesy Turkey (or Chicken) Mini Pot Pies.

There are a lot of these sorts of recipes on Pinterest, but I think my version is primarily adapted from this one (which was adapted from this one).  It's a simple but customizeable idea!  What I love about it is that it's one of those meals that only takes about half an hour to make (including prep and cooking time), while it's also a complete meal (meat, veggies, carbs) by itself (though I often make a small pot of pasta as a side), which makes it perfect for those nights I've forgotten to plan ahead for dinner....

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients.

  • 1 roll of biscuits (10-ct, any kind)
  • about 1 cup cooked turkey, shredded (or 4-6 oz. canned chicken, shredded)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • 1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken soup
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen veggies*
  • Parsley, to taste (1 tsp is a good starting point)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste (go light)

*My preferred combination is 1 cup peas & carrots + 1/2 cup corn (I've also made it with mixed veggies--peas, carrots, corn, and green beans--as well as added broccoli to the peas and carrots).  I typically defrost the veggies for a couple minutes in the microwave before mixing them in, too.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Shred the cooked turkey (or chicken) with your fingers.


Add cheese.


Add cream of chicken soup.


Add veggies.


Add parsley, salt, and pepper.


Stir to mix.


Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

(I only spray the ten I use.)

Pop open the roll of biscuits (try not to drop the whole roll when it POPS at you--I hate this step so much).  One at a time, flatten each biscuit and shape into a cup in the muffin tin holes.


Spoon the cheesy-turkey-veggie mix into each cup.


Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minutes.  (It's hard to tell how cooked they are from the top; use a fork to check the side of a biscuit to make sure they aren't getting too dark.)


Remove from oven and let sit for about three minutes to set.


Pop 'em out of the tin with a fork, and you're ready to eat!


I love how neat and tidy it is--a whole little meal of meat, veggies, and carbs, in a cute little cup. :-)


They do tend to get a bit oozy once you cut into them...


And it's just as good with the turkey as it is with chicken--I could hardly taste the difference!  I'm so glad we found a use for all those Thanksgiving leftovers. :-)

And for your cut-and-paste convenience:

Cheesy Turkey (or Chicken) Mini Pot Pies

  • 1 roll of biscuits (10-ct, any kind)
  • about 1 cup cooked turkey, shredded (or 4-6 oz. canned chicken, shredded)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • 1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken soup
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen veggies
  • Parsley, to taste (1 tsp is a good starting point)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste (go light)
  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. In large bowl, mix turkey, cheese, soup, veggies, parsley, salt, and pepper.
  3. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray.
  4. Flatten each biscuit and shape into cups in muffin tin.
  5. Spoon cheesy mixture into biscuit cups.
  6. Bake 12-15 minutes at 400.
  7. Remove from oven and let set (in tin) 2-3 minutes.
Enjoy! :-)

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