Thanksgiving pot pie.

Leftover turkey, carrots, celery, potatoes, peas… and lots of butter!

Everyone has their favorite meal to prepare with leftovers from Thanksgiving. This is mine. It’s hearty and probably not the healthiest, but it’s all homemade and delicious! The veggies balance out the insane amount of butter, right? This recipe does take some time and preparation, which I get you may want to skip if you made Thanksgiving dinner, but if you’re ready for some time in the kitchen, try out this recipe.

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This meal consists of two recipes both from my favorite baking blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction. The first is her All-Butter Pie Crust and the second is her Double Crusted Chicken Pot Pie. All Butter Pie Crust: This recipe makes two pie crusts, which is exactly what you need for this recipe. It’s my go-to pie crust recipe. My husband often tells me to just buy the store bought, but to me, nothing beats the buttery, flakiness of homemade dough. Plus, the top crust is the best part of a pot-pie! It does use two whole sticks of butter, which does make me feel a bit unhealthy, but it’s the holidays, right? And who doesn’t love the flakiness once baked?

I follow this recipe almost exactly, except that I find I always need to use more ice water. She says specifically in the recipe not to add more, but every time, I find it doesn’t come together until I almost double the amount. Make sure you make this ahead of time, though! It does need to sit in the fridge most of the day, and preferably overnight. Pot Pie: Since I use leftover turkey, I combine a few steps in this recipe. I sauté onions, carrots, and celery with butter (yes, there’s more!) for a few minutes. I try not to get them too soft since they’ll still soften in the oven. The roux is the most important part! Once you’ve added the flour and let it coat everything nicely, add in the chicken stock VERY SLOWLY! You want to stir and keep a thick consistency the entire time. I pour in 1/4 cup at a time stirring constantly. It’ll get runnier as more and more is added, but please take your time. This is most important! Then, once the stock is all incorporated, add in the dairy. I usually use half-and-half like she suggests.

I find it takes at least 15 minutes to get really thick. About 5 minutes in, I add some peeled and chopped potatoes, because I tell myself that more veggies will make this healthier. Be mindful to keep stirring (it’ll stick and burn if you don’t.) Once it’s thick, I’ll roll out the dough, place it in the pie pan, plop the chopped turkey and peas, then cover with the veggie gravy mixture. The second pie crust goes on top.

I place the entire pie pan on a sheet tray, because it always seems to boil over and I really despise cleaning my oven. I use a pie shield, too, because you don’t want those buttery crust layers getting burned. Once it bakes, I let it sit for about 15 minutes to help firm up the gravy. It’s a great feeling when you cut a slice and the entire inside doesn’t come pouring out. Makes all of this work worth it!

That’s it. It’s definitely work, but tastes great and uses up leftovers. I sometimes roast up some green veggies to have on the side, but I usually tell myself there’s enough veggies inside the pie that I don’t need to cook anything else to go with this.

PS: Not the best photo, but see all of that browning? That’s what you want. Nice butter layers! YUM!

Happy post-Thanksgiving! One plate. One meal.