Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients

• roasted Thanksgiving turkey carcass, with 3 pounds of meat remaining on bones
• carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• bunches fresh celery leaves
• medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• bouquet Garni
• enough water to cover
• large potato, peeled and diced (set aside)

​Directions

1. Place turkey in a large stockpot. Add carrots, celery leaves, onion and Bouquet Garni. To make Bouquet Garni, place 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns, ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves, 3 whole cloves and several sprigs fresh parsley in a square of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together and tie with cotton string. Add to stockpot.
2. Pour in enough water to cover turkey; cover stockpot with lid. Cook over high heat just until water comes to a low boil; reduce heat to low and simmer turkey 1 hour. When turkey is even more tender, transfer to a large platter; cool until easy to handle. Remove turkey from bones, cutting meat into bite-size pieces.
3. Bring turkey broth and vegetables back to a boil; reduce volume by one-fourth. Set broth aside for later use. Meanwhile, peel and dice potato. In a medium saucepan, cook potatoes just until tender. Drain; set aside.

​Assembly

• ¼ cup flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 ¾ cups strained reserved turkey broth
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, generous grinding of black pepper, reserved turkey pieces, reserved diced potato
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 cup mixed vegetables, if desired

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, gradually whisk half-and-half into flour until smooth; pour in turkey broth. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, adding a little extra broth if mixture is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in turkey pieces, potato, carrots, celery, onion, and mixed vegetables if desired. Spoon filling into a large casserole dish. Top with biscuits and bake in a preheated 425-degree oven 40-45 minutes, until casserole is hot and bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup shortening
• ¾ cup milk

Directions

1. Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until pea-size. Stir in milk all at once. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface. Knead dough several times. Pat into a round disk, about ¾-inch thick. Cut biscuits with a floured biscuit cutter and place on top of casserole. Bake as directed above.

​Recipe courtest of Christy Ross, author of Celebrating Home: A Handbook For Gracious Living (Bright Sky Press)

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