Paula Deen Shares Her Ultimate Thanksgiving Leftover Hack—Plus, a Cozy Pot Pie Recipe! (EXCLUSIVE)
Find out which dishes grace Paula's Thanksgiving dinner table every year!
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, having a game plan for every aspect of the meal, especially leftovers, ensures your holiday will be smooth sailing. In fact, Woman’s World cover star Paula Deen shares a few of her favorite ways to make the most out of your leftover turkey and sides. This involves transforming them into comforting dishes, including a turkey pot pie brimming with cozy and delicious flavors. You certainly won’t get tired of your Thanksgiving leftovers thanks to Paula Deen’s clever hacks. So, read on to learn more about maximizing your holiday spread for days to come.
A glimpse into Paula’s Thanksgiving spread
Paula’s Thanksgiving dinner spread consists of family-favorites that always deliver on flavor and nostalgia. “We have to have the dressing that my grandmother taught me how to make,” she says. “The sweet potato casserole that my Aunt Peggy makes. It’s so good. And my children love my fresh green beans, so those things have to be on the table. I’ll make fresh cranberry sauce using the fresh cranberries and usually a coconut cake is in order. It’s hard for me to have Christmas or Thanksgiving without a wonderful, wonderful coconut cake.” Sounds like a meal that’s worth the wait every year!
3 ways Paula turns Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious meals
Once Thanksgiving is over, Paula uses those leftovers to make these three yummy dishes.
1. Turkey stock
Your leftover turkey parts are great for making a stock that rivals the store-bought kind. “It’s good to boil that carcass and get great stock and you can put that stock in the freezer,” she explains. “You can bag it up and pull it out for future casseroles or soup which is great.” (Use this homemade chicken stock recipe as a reference point for preparing and storing your own turkey stock.)
2. Turkey soup
Paula notes that her and her family love turkey soup, which is perfect as soup season in full effect. It’s as simple as shredding the leftover poultry and simmering it in a pot with the turkey stock, veggies and your desired seasonings until it’s heated throughout. Yum!
3. Turkey pot pie
For a creamy and hearty Thanksgiving leftovers dish, turkey pot pie is Paula’s go-to. “That is really, really an easy leftover dish to make because you would take your pieces of turkey and put it in your gravy and maybe add a little cream to it and season it up,” she says. “Add some peas and carrots to it and you’ve got the makings of a turkey pot pie right there.”
Bonus: Paula’s leftover turkey pot pie recipe
Paula Deen’s Thanksgiving leftover hacks are definitely worth trying this year, especially her turkey pot pie recipe listed below. She uses butternut squash for earthiness, but you can swap in peas, carrots or another veg to suit your taste buds. The puff pastry lattice crust also gives this pie a butteriness and flakiness that complements the rich turkey filling.
Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 (11 oz.) cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 2 (10.75 oz.) cans cream of celery soup
- 1 large skinned, cooked, boned and cubed turkey
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2 cups cooked diced butternut squash
- 2 cups cranberry sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Active: 10 minutes
- Total time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- To make crust, dust surface with flour. Cut 1 sheet of puff pastry into 1-inch strips, 8 inches long.
- On large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover each pot pie. Mix egg and milk together and brush onto each lattice square.
- Bake 5 minutes. Dough will rise and turn light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble pies.
- In large saucepan, heat milk and soups. Stir in turkey, onion, squash, cranberries, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.
- In an oven-proof pot, fill with mixture and top with precooked lattice square.
- Bake 5 minutes until bubbly and puff pastry is deep golden brown. Remove from oven and serve wam. Enjoy!
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