turkey pot pies (from leftover Thanksgiving turkey & gravy)

Last night, when clearing out a spot in my freezer for the results of my cookie baking marathon, I realized I had never used the last of the turkey breast and gravy from Thanksgiving. Remember how I accidentally over ordered those two giant bone-in breasts? Well, I'd shredded the turkey and popped it into an air-tight bag, tucking it away in the freezer back when we were tired of eating turkey... a few chops of carrot and celery combined with the leftover gravy (which I'd also frozen) and the turkey topped off with some (store-bought) puff pastry and dinner was made in minutes.

Turkey Pot Pies (from leftover turkey)

(freezes perfectly, so make extras if you can!)

shredded or chopped turkey

gravy

whole milk (optional)

carrots, chopped

celery, chopped

lemon zest (optional)

puff pastry

Combine turkey, gravy, carrots and celery in a mixing bowl. If your mixture seems really thick, consider cutting it with a bit of whole milk. Pour turkey mixture into an oven-proof baking dish. Top with puff pastry, cutting a vent for steam to escape. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown. You can also cook from frozen. If doing so, cook time will be more like 1 hour.

homemade stock

I made a little mistake ordering the turkey this year. What I should say is that I made a mistake ordering the turkeys this year. I decided to go easy, and just order bone-in turkey breasts, versus the whole bird. I know, I know. Some of you are fainting at the mere thought of not having the big bird there on display.

This just made a lot more sense, since we all prefer my brined white meat. I didn't think to ask if they were single or double breasts. So, we ended up with 4 plump bone-in breasts. Oops (though the cook in me was secretly thrilled). We enjoyed a fabulous feast on Thanksgiving...some hearty turkey sandwiches picnicking at our local Nature Center the next day, and enjoyed a follow-up meal or two of the whole shebang. But I shredded a bunch of the turkey up and froze it along with both sets of bones, knowing that we'd tire of turkey before too long, and that I'd be inspired to cook again this week.

The urge to cook again came up more quickly than I expected. On Sunday, while my husband hung the outside lights with my dad, and the kids decorated our tree with their Meme, I made my first soup: Mark Bittman's super easy Turkey-Noodle Soup with Fresh Ginger. It was delicious, and fortuitous, since a head cold has had me sidelined the past two days. Nothing better than homemade soup when you're feeling sorry for yourself-- I mean sick.

Anyway, you can certainly make homemade soup with a multitude of good store-bought broths, but there's something special about starting with a homemade stock. So, if you tucked those turkey bones in the freezer last week like I mentioned on the FB page, then haul them out and make a pot with me. As you can see above, my turkey bones went straight from the freezer into the pot...

Homemade Stock

bones from a turkey, chicken or ham

a few stalks of celery

a few carrots

an onion if you have one, skin removed, quartered

a little garlic if you'd like, rough chopped

any fresh herbs you may have on hand

water

salt to taste

Place the bones in a large pot and fill with water. Add any vegetables or fresh herbs you would like to use to flavor the stock. Bring to a simmer and let it boil until desired level of flavor and thickness. Remove bones. You may also remove the veggies and herbs you used to flavor the broth, or leave them in. Up to you. Proceed as you would with any soup recipe. Stock freezes beautifully so if that's all you feel like cooking today, totally fine. Simply tuck it away in the freezer for a winter day when you want to make homemade soup.

simple turkey brine recipe + what I put inside and on top

This brine from The Pioneer Woman is sooooo good. I've modified her recipe just a little bit...

The Pioneer Woman's Turkey Brine with a few small changes

(you make the brine, let it cool down to room temp

and then brine your raw turkey 24 hours in advance, so plan ahead)

3 cups apple cider

2 gallons cold tap water

a bunch of fresh rosemary

10 cloves of garlic, minced (double what she uses in her brine)

1 1/2 cups Kosher salt

2 cups brown sugar

handful of peppercorns

5 bay leaves

zest or peel of 3 large oranges

Combine all of these ingredients in a very large pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat off and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Make sure you remove the neck & giblets if they're inside your turkey. Place raw turkey into brine solution, then refrigerate for 24 hours. Northeasterners: I have been known to bolt the lid down with big rocks to keep the animals out, and store the pot outside on the patio if it's cold out...

When ready to roast your turkey, remove it from the brine and wash or hose it off. The idea is to remove the excess salt. Pat the turkey dry then proceed with your normal turkey roasting instructions. I forget what those are each year, so here's a link to the Whole Foods site with all sorts of helpful information, including cook times based upon the size turkey you are cooking.

I don't put our bread stuffing into our turkey, but I do stuff our turkey with a few aromatic herbs and citrus...

I also like to put some onions and herbs into the roasting pan.

And (achem), I have been known to lather up the turkey breasts I order for extra white meat with a wee bit of butter.

Make-Ahead Dinner: Chicken Chili Bake

Both of my kids are in school five days a week. You'd think I'd be this happy-go-lucky mom, all fit, organized and zen-like. Not quite. In fact, not even close. Despite my best efforts to maintain balance and carve out "me" time while the kids are in school, I am totally failing at it. I look at my calendar of meetings and activities and my head spins. Volunteer work has me tethered to my computer. I'm not sure how I got into this chaotic place, but I am going to have to find my way out. In the meantime, the boys still need me noon or 3pm on, and breakfast, lunch and dinner still need to be made each day. Thankfully, mealtimes are the one area where I feel like I've still got two feet on the ground. Well, I did until I assembled this super simple casserole, went to pop it in the oven this afternoon and the oven would only go up to 100 degrees. So, we are officially down to one working burner and one working oven around here. Fabulous. Stay tuned for raw recipes at the rate that this kitchen is falling apart. Anyway, takeout averted, it was a perfect comforting dinner to end this Monday.

Chili Chicken Bake

For those of you who like my chicken enchiladas, this is an even easier semi-homemade dinner. Makes 8 hearty portions. Can be assembled and frozen too.

about 1 cup sour cream
8-10 corn tortillas
1 pkg of Bilinski's Chicken Chili (or 2 cups of ground turkey, chicken, beef or tofu cooked in Mexican seasonings...)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
a few hearty handfuls of spinach
2 cups salsa (your desired heat level...or tomato sauce if you realize you don't have salsa...)
shredded cheese

Layer the casserole then bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese is golden brown. Can be assembled ahead and frozen. If heating from frozen, double the cook time. Reheats perfectly.

Here's the recipe in action, for those who find it helpful to see it step by step:

I smoothed a thin layer of sour cream on first (pictured up above, probably a quarter cup total) then placed 4 tortillas, overlapping on top.

Then the pre-made Bilinski's Chicken Chili. I'm a fan of this company's products, which I stumbled upon in the refrigerated meat case at Whole Foods in Darien. Their meatballs are good too, for something quick to have on hand. You can, of course, saute your own ground meat or TVP/tofu in Mexican seasoning, but the idea was to have this meal be super, super simple, hence the shortcut!

Then another layer of 4 overlapping tortillas....

and a few hearty handfuls of baby spinach, which I dolloped with the remainder of the sour cream.

Tossed on a rinsed and drained can of black beans,

and then I went to put salsa and cheese on top. Only we had no salsa. So, instead I smothered a jar of sun-dried tomato sauce on top. Probably better, since one of my kids is awfully wary of things being "too spicy" these days. That's the finished product, up top, cooling down. And that's that. A one dish meal, ready to go when we got home, ready to settle in for a family dinner.

lighter on my feet + avocado salad and week 2-approved marinated chicken

I am totally hooked. 11 days in to my gift to myself I feel amazing. (The icing on the cake...or lime on the jicama as the case may be when we're talking treats these day... is that when I went to JCREW for some new white jeans, I had to go down 2 sizes. In 10 days. Really, who wouldn't be smitten with themselves?!) And the impact on my family is pretty darn fabulous too. You all know that we always ate relatively healthfully, but since I am following Tracy's Eating Plan as well, there are tons of fruits and veggies guaranteed at each meal. I know. I know. You all gave me so much flack for my uber-organized fridge in the Chicken Enchilada video, but I'm telling you: it's totally worth it to prep ahead. That pic above included some of my prepped ingredients for week 2's meals. Crunchy, colorful goodness. (Much appreciated after 7 days of purees and soups...)

As for the exercise portion, I love-- and now totally agree with-- what Tracy says: "People feel guilty about taking that time for themselves and don’t stop to realize that devoting some time each day to take care of yourself will help you in all other aspects of your life." Now, don't get me wrong. This hasn't been an easy 11 days. The "30 min" of cardio and "30 min" of toning that Tracy encourages me to do 6 days/week really takes me more like 45 minutes apiece because I have to stop to catch my breath or guzzle water. The first day I was clomping around so ridiculously ungracefully that my children came running up to see what the hell was going on above them. Nothing little ones, that's just mom trying to do some dance cardio. For someone who really hasn't danced since, oh, our wedding 10+ years ago, I am happy to report that 11 days in I am lighter on my feet. Still, no one is going to mistake my moves for Tracy's. Yet.

Then there's the food. And while I knew I would find a way to squeeze the exercise into my busy days (even if it means getting up at 5:30 am to do it before getting the kids ready for school), I wondered if I'd really be able to make her eating plan work? So far, so good. I find myself adding fresh herbs, lemon juice, and spices where I can to keep things interesting. But then there's something like these chunks of fresh kiwi and blueberries that are so perfect as is.

This week, I am having two hard boiled eggs and a cup of fresh fruit for breakfast each day. The kids are having some derivation of that too and digging it (like above with the half eaten egg). Prep is non-existent (unless you count chopping an apple and peel a banana for them) because I am boiling the eggs ahead of time.

Dinners have overlapped nicely too. I'm the only one who likes grilled tofu, so everyone else had a roasted veggie pizza at the meal pictured above. The only real difference is that I've been leaving the kid's salads "deconstructed" (as they do in some of the finest dining establishments).

Here's a "week 2-approved" recipe I came up with that was a hit with my family this weekend. Whether you are doing this 90-day gig along with me or not, I think you'll enjoy this simple meal idea:

Avocado Salad

Combine chunks of avocado, red pepper, English cucumbers, jicama and cherry tomatoes. Add the juice of a few limes (depending upon how much you're making). If you'd like, you can also add salt & pepper, to taste.

Lemon-Mustard Marinated Chicken

In a large zip-loc, combine chicken breasts or cutlets + lemon zest + lemon juice + grainy mustard + fresh rosemary + a few grinds of pepper + a few shakes of smoked paprika. Add enough water so the marinade turns to a "paste" consistency. Let chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Grill over high heat so the chicken is seared. This will prevent it from sticking to the grill. Serve warm or cold.

mini turkey meatloaves (filled with shredded veggies)

These mini turkey meatloaves are filled with a few cups of shredded veggies, which keep them moist (and healthful). They are easy to make and freeze beautifully, so make a big batch and you'll have a family-friendly meal at the ready on busy nights! Oh, and as far as the veggies poking out go, if you've got a kid questioning the contents, try calling them "confetti meatloaf"...tell them there's a party in there and those are the streamers.

Mini Turkey Meatloaves (a.k.a. "Confetti Meatloaf")

(makes about 8 individual meatloaves)

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded onion
2 large eggs
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs OR Quaker oats
hearty pinch of dried basil (or fresh if you have it)
hearty pinch of dried oregano
hearty shake of garlic powder
1 lb ground white meat turkey
ketchup (optional, to swirl on top before baking)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If not already shredded, simply pulse the carrots, zucchini and onions through the shredder attachment of a Cuisinart. Then, in a large bowl, combine all ingredients with your hands. Form turkey mixture into 4" balls and place on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle some ketchup on top, if you'd like. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°.

Once cooled, you can freeze cooked meatloaves in an airtight container. Simply reheat them in the microwave.

For those who like to see the recipe in action, here are a few photos...you'll notice that I doubled this recipe, because I was doing a major re-stock of our meals in the freezer!

mix all of the ingredients together with your hands

then form them into equal-sized mini meatloaves (whatever size you want, just make them uniform so they cook evenly...I tend to make them about 4" or so)

a squiggle of ketchup to liven things up

my batch, out of the oven and ready for the freezer

and as far as my kids go, they split one between them. This week they were a hit with a side of parsnip & carrot "fries".

chicken pot pies for the freezer

I am getting ready to leave my dad and husband in charge of my boys for a week. If I am going to really relax, at least I need to know that everyone back home is well-fed in my absence. While this recipe is more decadent and more involved than my average weeknight dinner, it's a favorite of my husband and kids so I made a big batch to pop in the freezer. You can make your own pastry crust. But I didn't. I did, however, get all Martha with the extra puff pastry.

Chicken Pot Pies

(makes 8 servings, freezes beautifully)

1 1/2 sticks of butter (yes, sticks)

2 yellow onions, diced

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 cups half & half
2 1/2 cups of whole milk

4 teaspoons rosemary, minced

2 teaspoons herbs de provence

2 teaspoons dill

8 stalks of celery, diced

8 carrots, diced

1 lb mushrooms, diced

4 chicken breasts, cooked, diced

1 lb peas, frozen, thawed

salt & pepper, to taste

1 package puff pastry (2 sheets)

egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 Tablespoon of water)

Let puff pastry thaw at room temp for at least 30 minutes.

To make the filling: in a large pot, melt the butter then add onion and cook until soft. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring consistently for 2 minutes. Add sherry, half & half, milk and herbs and whisk until blended. Add celery, carrots, mushroom, peas and chicken. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and divide mixture evenly between 8 individual ramekins or 2 larger casserole dishes.

Top each dish with a round of puff pastry. Brush puff pastry with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water). The egg wash is optional, but it will make the puff pastry turn a pretty golden brown.

If baking now, preheat oven to 375. Baked for 30-45 minutes, uncovered until warmed through and golden brown. Cover with foil if top gets too brown.

If freezing, wrap tightly. Thaw in fridge the day you plan to enjoy it, then bake in preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes...maybe longer, depending upon whether part of it is still frozen. Simply cover with foil if top gets too brown.

I doubled this recipe to make a huge batch (4 individual, two 2-serving, two 4-serving dishes) so we had a few family dinners on hand in the freezer plus I could share a dinner with a friend that could use a homemade dinner this week. If you're going to be spending the time cooking, why not double the recipe since it freezes perfectly? Enjoy!

comfort in a bowl: simple homemade soup

I caught a cold. It was bound to happen. Apparently I hadn't gotten the memo that there is no "Supermom Award", and so I was burning the candle at both ends and wham-o. Down for the count. Now that I am back up and looking at my to-do list with a more critical eye (what really needs to happen this week and what can be put off til next week...or 2011) I want to share the recipe for the soup I think did the trick:

Simple Homemade Turkey Soup

(makes plenty...enough until you're feeling well)

Carrots, chopped
Celery, chopped
Onion, chopped

Turkey (which I had leftover from Thanksgiving, shredded and frozen)*

2 32-oz containers organic veggie broth

6 cubes Dorot frozen garlic**

6 cubes Dorot frozen cilantro**

salt & pepper to taste

(frozen peas, optional)

(al dente pasta, optional)

Saute the carrots, celery onion in a bit of olive oil. Add the turkey (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter... you'll just have to cook the soup a bit longer if it's frozen) and the broth. Bring to a simmer. Pop in a couple of frozen garlic and cilantro cubes. Simmer for about a half hour or until your kitchen smells amazing and your mood starts to brighten. (Can also be frozen so you have it on hand the next time you get run down. Though, really, you should have learned your lesson this go round.)

* can always substitute a rotisserie chicken if you ate all of your turkey

** I buy this at Trader Joe's...perfect if you need fresh herbs in a pinch (or if you're feeling tired and just want to make soup fast)

a few fabulous ways to use up that turkey!

Well, I wasn't sure it was worth the extra step, but I must say that this year's turkey was my best ever (if I might say so myself). I really do think the brine I made off of The Pioneer Woman's blog made a huge difference. I took detailed notes and photos so I can pass them along to you next year (in advance of the big cook day). But this weekend, I thought it would be most helpful to share my favorite uses for leftover turkey...If you're not up for cooking again just yet, simply shred your leftover turkey and put it in a big zip-loc in the freezer, then bookmark this post for when you decide to re-enter the kitchen!

I have a bunch of tried and true recipes here on the blog that can be made with any turkey meat you may have on hand. These are my six favorites:

Turkey Chili (substitute shredded turkey for the ground turkey)

Hearty Bean Soup with Turkey (simply substitute chunks of turkey for the sausage)

A zesty picadillo made with shredded turkey is a nice counterbalance to the richness of Thanksgiving dinner (and the past few days of leftover stuffing...)

If your pantry is well-stocked then you probably have a seasoning packet you could use for soft tacos (substitute turkey for the pork) or maybe you have one of these great sauces on hand and you can whip up a simple curry.

... and of course, you can always whip up a batch of Chicken Enchiladas with turkey instead. Simply shred the meat and go from there! My recipe varies a little bit each time I make them (depending upon what I have on hand) but here's one and here's another.

The turkey: to brine or not to brine?

I forgot to order a turkey. In all of the happy hub bub of turning my kitchen into a savory pumpkin cannelloni factory for a bunch of the teachers at my older son's school, I completely forgot to get my own Thanksgiving planned. No biggie. There were plenty of perfect turkeys sitting around just waiting for me to pick one. Who knew? I always thought you had to order the perfect bird! Now there's one less thing I have to worry about going forward, hmm. Anyway, brining seems to be the hot topic these days. A friend asked me last week and I kind of dismissed it, saying I'd tried it a few years back and I didn't notice a major difference. Every year since then I've just been going the rub-down-with-butter route and it's been great. (The turkey, not me. Get your mind out of the gutter.) Anyway, enough of you have asked me if I am brining (and you all have this wild look in your eyes saying how you're so excited about brining) that I am going to try brining again this year. One glitch-- Whole Foods was sold out of brining kits. (See, I told you it was big. Man, I wish I owned a brining kit company this year.) Thankfully, the Pioneer Woman's got me covered. Here's her recipe for the perfect brine.

Who has time to cook from scratch every night?

I don't cook from scratch every night. Even if I wanted to, there's no way that I could pull that off.

Last night, I had dinner plans with a friend. We were high tailing it into town for some kid-free conversation. Still, my husband and the kids needed dinner. In a matter of minutes, I "made" a mild curry (which my kids proclaimed to be "the best ever"), brown rice and roasted butternut squash.

The curry was simply Stonehouse 27's Cashew & Cream cooking sauce + chicken + a bag of organic frozen peas + a hearty handful of roasted, unsalted cashews...tossed in a large saute pan and heated until the chicken was cooked through. Most supermarkets have already cooked brown rice in the freezer section. And cubes of butternut squash (yes, bought pre-cut) were simply roasted at 425 on a cookie sheet with a drizzle of olive oil + kosher salt + pepper + cumin + cinnamon + and chili powder for about 20 minutes, while I had a relaxing cup of coffee with another friend and five kiddos took a Spanish class in my living room. Amazing meal, very little effort, happy mom.

Busy day today... tonight was a similarly easy "homemade" meal. What can I say? With a lot going on and major Thanksgiving cooking on the horizon, I am not going to burn the candle at both ends this week before!

That is our dinner in the photo above. Not bad for a Tuesday night. The soft tacos were made with ground beef sauteed in Frontera's new Taco Skillet Sauce (which is so new that I can't find it on their website under "products"? But I can tell you that our local (Darien, CT) Whole Foods is definitely stocking it in the Mexican/Southwestern aisle. While I couldn't find a product link, I did manage to find a grocer wholesale sheet. So, if you want that for your local retailer, here it is.) + shredded cheese + sour cream + chunks of avocado. I meant to make cumin roasted cauliflower, but I forgot to turn the oven on...oh well.

The point of this post is that a well-stocked pantry or popping one or two simmer sauces, rubs, or similar into your shopping cart each week allows you to create amazing meals in minutes. So, no more "I tried your enchiladas and they were amazing but I haven't got time to cook like that every night!" The truth is, some nights neither do I!