Preparing an entire Thanksgiving meal by yourself can be ridiculously stressful, especially if you have kids and the family is in town staying at your house. Brutal! I realized when doing one myself why wine was inventedJ. There are tons of stress-saving cooking tips that are out there, you just need to know where to look.
Start by hitting the frozen food aisle! Forget trying to pick green beans, cut carrots or trim Brussels sprouts; all that work is done for you, it’s just in a different part of the grocery store. Along with veggies, the frozen food aisles are stacked with delicious desserts and pies, pre-baked rolls, crowd-pleasing appetizers, you name it they’ve got it. These products immediately cut down on prep time and annoyingly long cooking times.
When it comes to preparing the turkey, you can never be safe enough. Correctly thaw your bird by putting it in a pan and letting it thaw out in the refrigerator 48 to 72 hours before cooking. Nothing worse than seeing raw meat on someone’s kitchen counter for hours at a time. In my kitchen, the only way to cook turkey is breast side down— this makes for the juiciest bird ever and extra tender chunks for my turkey potpie! In addition to the delicious, juicy turkey playing a huge role in the pot pie, the gravy has to be full-flavored. Take the time to properly season with salt and pepper, taste it and season it again if need be. Add in some fresh chopped thyme to kick it up a notch and don’t forget to brush the top of the phyllo dough with an egg and milk wash— this will ensure it to be golden brown and crunchy!
(Don’t forget to pin the big picture below:-))
These small techniques ladder up to the bigger picture, which is be organized, make lists, give yourself enough time, figure out where you can save time, delegate authority (in that Cartman VoiceJ) and by all means, have fun! The holidays aren’t meant to be stressful, they are meant to enjoy with family and friends, being thankful for all you have and of course eating delicious food. One thing is certain though, there will be leftovers, and that’s where this Easy Leftover Turkey Pot Pie comes in. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For more great tips and recipes, be sure to check out http://www.easyhomemeals.com.
- 3 cups of chopped cooked turkey
- 1 bag of Green Giant frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 cooked and chopped sweet potato
- 1 cooked and chopped Idaho potato OR (1 cup refrigerated Simply Potatoes pre-diced potatoes)
- 1 diced onion
- 2 ounces of Land O Lakes unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 32 ounces of chicken stock
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 1 sheet of frozen Athens phyllo dough
- 1 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup of milk
- In a large pot on high heat with ½ ounce of butter add in the onion and caramelize. Once brown add in the remaining butter. After it’s completely melted add in the flour and combine.
- Next add in the stock and bring to a boil while occasionally whisking. It will become like very thick gravy. Once it is boiling turn the heat down to simmering. Add in the cream, salt, pepper, and thyme, and keep warm.
- Place the turkey, vegetables and potatoes in a 9x13 casserole pan and pour on the herb gravy.
- Next la the phyllo dough over the top. Since there are several layers feel free to spread them out so that the entire pan is covered.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg and milk and brush the top of the phyllo dough.
- Bake in the oven on 350° for 30 minutes. Serve hot!