Yesterday we decided to have a big turkey dinner. Turkey, rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, our favorite side salad (browned ramen noodles, broccoli, romaine, green onions, with a red wine vinegar/oil soy sauce dressing), cranberry sauce, and fresh bread. Tonight, our daughter has a soccer game so I wanted to have dinner cooked and all set for us to heat up when we get home.
I wanted to do something with the leftover turkey. I froze a few meals worth but a 14 pound turkey makes a lot of leftovers! One of my favorite meals to make out of leftovers is shepherd's pie. It is a really forgiving recipe. I use the word "recipe" lightly because I don't really follow a recipe. I have made it with pulled pork, hamburger gravy, ham, vegetarian, and today I used turkey.
I started out by grabbing whatever veggies I had to use up. This part of the recipe is very forgiving too. Just use what you have. Today I used leeks, celery, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and corn. However, in the past I have also used turnips, rutabagas, onion, mushrooms, and green beans. Ok, back to today. I sautéed up the leeks, celery, carrots, and sweet potatoes in some olive oil. I seasoned the veggies with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. After letting them cook for a few minutes, I added in some homemade chicken broth. You just need enough broth for the veggies to simmer in. You don't want it too runny. I put a little broth into a bowl and added one drop of Young Living's Basil Vitality Essential Oil. I like to add the essential oil to something prior to adding it to the pan. It helps it to disburse throughout the dish better. Next, I added in some frozen peas and some corn. The corn was from the farmer's market. I like to stock up in the summer, parboil it, cut it off the cob and freeze it. It has so much more flavor than buying canned or frozen corn from the store. Next, add in some chopped up turkey. I let the veggies simmer for a few more minutes. Then it is time to layer your pan. I like to use a glass pie dish but really any baking pan will do. I added the mixture to the pie pan. I topped it with leftover rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, and cheddar cheese. I let it bake at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes. Just let it warm through and let the cheese get as melty/chewy as you like.
I had extra of the turkey/veggie layer so I kept that separate. My son isn't a fan of potatoes so I knew he would eat better if I gave him a plateful of just the turkey/veggies. By saying "isn't a fan" I mean, really, isn't a fan. He is 11 years old and only started liking even french fries maybe five years ago. I figured he would still pick around the sweet potatoes. Evidently, this shepherd's pie was awesome because BOTH kids had seconds and my boy even ate all the sweet potatoes!
*Note: I can only speak to the safety of ingesting Young Living's Vitality line of essential oils*
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