6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

Filling:

1-pound skinless, boneless cooked turkey or chicken meat – cut into smaller pieces

Olive Oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and diced

½ white or yellow onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

10 brown mushrooms, sliced

Spices: Fresh ground pepper, salt, thyme, dill

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1 ear of corn, shucked or 1 cup of frozen corn

10 small pewee potatoes, cut in half or 1 potato cut into cubes

White Sauce:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 3/4 cups chicken or turkey stock

2/3 cup milk

Pastry*:

2 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch Salt

2/3 cup Crisco or Butter Flavored Crisco

8-9 Tablespoons Water

8 Single-serve pie ramekins

*Double the recipe to create sufficient pastry to create a bottom and top shell for a large pie.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

Sauté Mirepoix: In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic, onion, celery and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add spices as desired. Once cooked, transfer vegetables to a large bowl.

Steam Vegetables: In a small saucepan, boil a cup of water. Once boiling, add the carrots and cook until el dente (few minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon, then cook the corn (about 2 minutes) and remove. Then cook the peas (about 1 to 2 minutes), and remove. Add more water to the pot, and once boiling add the cut potatoes. Cook until, slightly firm about 5 minutes, then remove. Place all cooked vegetables in bowl with sauteed vegetables.

White Sauce: In a large, non-stick pan, melt butter. Once melted, stir in flour to create a roux. Slowly add stock, using a whisk to remove lumps. Add salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.

Pie Filling: Add the turkey/chicken chunks to the bowl of cooked vegetables and stir. Slowly add the cooked sauce and combine. Set aside.

Pastry: In a large bowl, add flour and salt. Fork in Crisco until well-integrated into the flour. Add 8 tablespoons of cold water and combine to create pasty dough. Add another tablespoon of water if needed to create the right consistency of pastry. Roll out pastry to desired thickness. Cut out circles to a size to cover each pie dish.

Cook Pies: Place the chicken/turkey mixture in pie dish. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake pie in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Preparation Instructions:

I wouldn’t classify this as a “healthy” recipe; however, it’s just fine to have a little fun with food 20% of the time.

This recipe is great for using Thanksgiving Day leftovers. You can even add a bit of dressing and gravy to the pie-filling to impart depth and flavor.

Lightly steaming the vegetables ahead of time (especially the potatoes) ensures that all the components of the pie come out evenly cooked.

You can prepare the pie-filling ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later use. To save time, purchase a prepared pastry shell from Pillsbury or Pepperidge Farms.

If you want to bake a single large pie, double the pastry recipe, and roll out to make a top and bottom pastry shell. Cook just the bottom pastry shell first. Place the bottom pasty shell in a greased pie dish and cook at 425 degrees until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Then add the pie-filling and cover with pastry on top. Bake at 425 degrees until pastry is golden brown.