Community Corner

Recipes: Thanksgiving Leftovers

Got leftovers? Check out these recipes for a tasty turkey pot pie and a Thanksgiving dinner soup.

So you had a great Thanksgiving and you STILL have leftover turkey, veggies and gravy. What to do with all those yummy leftovers?

Well, you're half-way to making a delicious turkey pot pie.

You already have cooked turkey. If you had carrots, peas, green beans or onions as a vegetable, that helps, too. And gravy.

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If you're more into soup, we've got a suggestion for that, too! Jennifer Smith shares her mother's recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner Soup.

Fay Abrahamsson's Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

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Ingredients

  • About 3 cups cooked turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
  • About 2 cups leftover vegetables of any kind, preferably corn, peas, carrots, green beans and onion. Even cooked pieces of potato will do. You won't want to use leftover mashed potato—it will just disintegrate in the casserole.
  • About 1 1/2 cups gravy, slightly warmed
  • 1 puff pastry sheet, thawed (thawing takes about 45 minutes)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and remember to thaw the puff pastry before you begin making this recipe.

In a large (two quart) oven-proof casserole dish, mix the turkey, veggies and gravy together until well mixed.

Place the puff pastry sheet on top, allowing any excess to hang over the sides of the dish. Cut several vent holes into the top of the pastry.

Place the casserole dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and looks crisp, about 40-45 minutes.

Jennifer Smith's Thanksgiving Dinner Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/2 cup carrot
  • 1/2 cup celery
  • 2 leftover turkey drumstick bones
  • 2 cups leftover white turkey meat
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 1 cup stuffing
  • 1 teaspoon dill weed
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • salt
  • pepper
  • poultry seasoning

Directions

Pour the chicken broth into a medium saucepan. Add the vegetables, dill weed, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook the veggies for 20 minutes. Add turkey drumsticks, mashed potatoes and stuffing. Pour the 1/2 cup of milk into the broth. Keep on the stove for another 20 minutes. Skim excess fat from the top of the soup. Serve and enjoy.

Other ways to use leftover turkey:

  • turkey tetrazzini (turkey and mushrooms with a white sauce on spaghetti)
  • turkey salad or sliced turkey sandwiches
  • turkey chili (make a regular chili without meat and add the cooked turkey)
  • turkey croquettes (turkey mixed with breadcrumbs and egg, rolled in crushed Ritz crackers and sauteed - serve with a sauce)
  • turkey soup
  • turkey shepherd's pie (substitute turkey for ground beef, add peas and carrots and mashed potatoes on top)
  • turkey quesadillas

Fay Abrahamsson and Jennifer Smith contributed to this report.


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