Tukey or Chicken Pot Pie

I haven't tried this, but I like home made pot pie and I saw this in a magazine and it looks good.  I want to save this recipe but not the magazine.  :)

1 egg
1 tb. water
6 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken
5 cups mixed vegetables (fresh or frozen)
2 tbs. butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups Chicken stock
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 of a 17.3 oz. pkg purr pastry sheet (1 sheet) thawed
2 tbs. coarsely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, and/or oregano)

Heat oven to 400, beat egg and water in small bowl with fork.  Stir turkey and veggies together in 9 x 13 pan.  Heat butter in 2 quart pan over medium heat and add flour. Cook and stir 3 minutes, and gradually stir in stock.  Cook and stir 5 minutes until mixture boils and thickens.  Stir in pepper.  Pour stock mixture over turkey and veggies.

Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into 9 x 13 rectangle and place over filling.  Press pastry to rim of pan to seal.  Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with herbs.  Bake 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is hot and bubbly. 

Okay, here's the thing.  At Thanksgiving time I always make a TON of gravy.  If I make this with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, I will use leftover turkey gravy instead of doing the stock/butter/flour thing.  But doing this at other times of the year, I will totally do this using a pre-cooked turkey breast from the deli.

Green Bean Casserole

A few changes in the way I used to make the traditional green bean casserole have made a big difference in the quality.  Now it's a lot fresher tasting and richer (and of course higher in calories, but it's for Thanksgiving so I don't care.)

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Healthy request)
• 1 cup cream (instead of milk)
• 1 - 1 1/2 tsp. canadian steak seasoning (instead of pepper)
• 1 large bag of frozen green beans (as much as you can comfortably fit in dish and still stir together ingredients.  Do not used  canned for this version of the recipe.)
• 3 cups French's french fried onions (doubled from original recipe, get the big can from Sam's club)

Mix all ingredients together, reserving half of the onions, in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  Top with reserved onions.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or till casserole is bubbling hot, you can adjust time and temperature to share the oven with other Thanksgiving side dishes.

Thanksgiving Spinach Casserole

I made this to surprise the kids for Thanksgiving once instead of the green bean casserole and after they got over being upset they decided this was better.  Now I'm supposed to make both every year. :)

• 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 can (13 3/4 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 cup whole milk

Combine spinach, artichokes, cream, salt, pepper, and half of parmesan cheese in casserole dish.  In a small bowl, beat cream cheese till fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed and add milk, mixing just till blended.  Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over spinach mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges bubble and top is golden.  You can adjust baking time and temperature so you can bake it with other casseroles and Thanksgiving side dishes.  Also, it's okay to be a little more generous with the parmesan cheese if you want to.

Roast Turkey (Nesco Turkey Roaster)

One of the most famous meals prepared in Nesco® Roaster Ovens is the traditional turkey dinner. People have been making their holiday meals in Nesco® roasters since first introduced in the 1930's.

Completely thaw turkey before roasting. The National Turkey Foundation recommends thawing in the refrigerator.

Allow about one day for every five pounds of turkey. For example, a 20 pound turkey would thaw for 4 days. Place turkey in original wrapping in a shallow pan. Rinse in cold water before roasting.

To thaw turkey quicker, keep it in original wrapping, place in sink with COLD water. The COLD water must be changed every 30 minutes and must completely cover the bird. For example, a 20 pound turkey would thaw in 10 hours.

How to Roast Turkey

One 14 to 22 pound turkey, fresh or frozen

Poultry seasoning

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon browning sauce such as Kitchen Bouquet®(optional)

Preheat 18 quart Nesco® Roaster Oven to 400º F. If you have a 12 quart Nesco®, a maximum 14 pound turkey is recommended. Cooking times (per pound) remain the same. Clean and rinse turkey. Pat dry. Remove neck and giblets. If desired, prepare separately.(I use these for the gravy.) Place turkey on rack. Use a pastry brush to spread mixture of butter and browning sauce evenly over turkey skin. Season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Determine length of roasting time, normally 15 to 20 minutes per pound. A stuffed turkey will add 30 to 45 minutes to total roasting time.

Stuff cavity, if desired. Cover. Roast one hour at 400º F. With baster, remove any liquid and fat from cavity of bird and cookwell. Set aside to make gravy. Brush bird with basting liquid or butter mixture. Reduce temperature to 350º F. Roast for remainder of cooking time. Use baster, to remove any liquid from cavity of bird and from cookwell when cooking time is about half-way through. If dry, baste turkey with basting liquids.

If turkey isn't as brown as you like it, increase temperature to 400º F. Roast remaining portion of time.

Use lift handles to remove turkey. Be careful - rack will be hot. Set turkey on a platter or cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. If turkey is done early, reduce temperature to 200º F. until serving time. (Turkey is almost ALWAYS done early)

Note: Roast turkey until internal temperature of meat reaches 180º F. on meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh muscle. Save juice to make gravy or as a base for soup. If you choose not to stuff the turkey, a sliced onion or a little garlic inside cavity of turkey also gives it a nice flavor.  But Gary would shoot me if I didn't stuff the turkey.