Turkey Shepherd's Pie

I was lucky enough to be gifted several meals over the Easter weekend and my good friend Keri, gave me this idea for leftovers awhile ago. I love making it in the individual loaf pans. They freeze well and you can just pull one or two out of the freezer for a quick meal.

Start by dumping all your leftover chopped up turkey, gravy, vegetables into a bowl. Mix and portion into loaf pans.

Top with a layer of stuffing...

Top with a layer of mashed potatoes....

Finally some grated cheddar cheese...

I don't have a photo of a baked one because by this stage, I had eaten turkey 4 days in a row but I assure you they are really good.
Bake for about half hour or longer if frozen. Just need to be heated through.

Nineteen in Nineteen and a recipe

Well I'm finally getting around to thinking about my Nineteen in Nineteen. I was considering not doing it this year as it keeps getting longer, but its fun to refer to over the year and I look back on them to see how I did.

So a couple of my goals last year were a little unrealistic eg. 100 Blog posts and Participate in 4 challenges a month. Even my book count was a little too high so I've redone what I think is a bit of a challenge but also doable.

I've already started the year off by finishing 2 books, I've got 10 on request from the library and I'm currently reading this one...

I'm only a few chapters in and I think its going to be excellent. Sam was born with a rare genetic condition that resulted in red eyes. That's all I'm going to say about that but I think its a rare jewel like Wonder. With a strong start, I think I can meet this year's goal of 40 books. I'd also like to participate in a Readathon which I think is just basically laying around all weekend and giving yourself permission to ignore the chores and read.

I also would like to instigate a bit of a cleaning routine. This one looks like it is pretty straight forward....

Some of them are so complicated, forget it. I'd be spending hours everyday with 2 shedding dogs. I also want to try and not leave dishes in the sink. My dishwasher is broken and I don't want to replace until I redo kitchen so it's a challenge to not let them drip dry.

You can read my other goals on the sidebar if you're interested but another one that I've started already is only use the freezer for main meal item and other things if possible for the month of January. Early in the year, I cleaned out and organized it with oldest items up front and its been working great now that I know what's in there and I don't grab meat etc just because its on sale. It will be interesting if it lowers my grocery bill. Which leads me to turkey... I usually have one or two on hand but I've cooked them up and had a lot of chopped meat left over which I used up in this yummy casserole..

Turkey Noodle Casserole

2 cups of cubed turkey or chicken
1 condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (light is ok)
chopped onions/mushrooms/red pepper (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
I add at least a cup of milk or water as it tends to dry out in a large open casserole
16 ounces of egg noodles, cooked

Mix all together and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or you can freeze unbaked (but then you'd be back to having another freezer item to use up, lol)

You could put some buttered breadcrumbs on top or crushed Ritz crackers but I thought it was already decadent enough.


I should also say that I'm running another major Fundraiser in April for Autism Dog Services so a lot of my time and energy will be dedicated to that. 

Turkey Pot Pie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I cheated and made a turkey last weekend as well because after hosting on the actual holiday, I never feel like dealing with the leftovers the next day but I always LOVE having a few of these in the freezer.
I like to make my own pot pie filling. You can make it with a can of soup but I sometimes find them very salty. This way, I can control the salt in the chicken broth and pack it full of meaty goodness.
You can always cheat and buy the pie crust or pick up a ready made fresh one at the Stone Crock bakery in St. Jacobs. I had time so I like to use the real thing.

I add alot of cooked leftover turkey.

And the final product.

Creamed Turkey

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. celery salt
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
4 cups cubed, chopped chicken or turkey

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add veggies and cook until tender.
Stir in flour and celery salt. Cook and stir 1 minute.
Whisk in milk and broth. Cook and whisk until thick and bubbly, then stir in turkey.
Makes 2 pies.