The Best Potpie Ever

Whoa, its been awhile. I think my three followers have been missing me...(Deb). I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I sure did and guess what? I have tons of leftover turkey...go figure. So I put it to good use. I made a turkey potpie. It was so dang good I have to pass the recipe on to you all - and this recipe was all me, I don't have to credit anyone because I totally made it up. If you have leftovers this is a great recipe. You can use any type of meat of want, or omit the meat and make it vegetarian. Okay here it is.

Carrots (chopped) - I used five, use however many you want
Potatoes (chopped) - I used two, and I never take the skin off, that is where all the nutrients are
Peas - half a bag of frozen peas

With that stuff, I put it in a pot and steamed it all until it was soft.

Next you need a creamy sauce. Ahem.

1/2 an onion - chopped
Mushrooms - I used a small handful - chopped
3 Tablespoons of flour
3 cups of liquid - I used two cups of milk and 1 cup of turkey stock (I had just made it out of the turkey carcass...waste not!)
Butter (or olive oil)
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Rosemary
Parsley

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Next add the onions and mushrooms and saute until they are soft. Once they are soft add the flour, then stir in your liquid half a cup at a time. This is like making gravy, only you don't want it to thicken up too much so keep the heat medium low. As it is heating and bubbling add your seasonings (to taste). I think part of the reason mine was so bomb status was because I used a generous amount of fresh thyme. I could totally taste it in the food when I ate it. I used about four stem fulls of leaves and put em' right into the skillet with my simmering sauce. Fresh thyme is not something I generally have laying around the house. I tend to dry my herbs and use them that way; however, because of Thanksgiving I had a lot of fresh stuff (turkey isn't the same without fresh herbs). That is a way to save money big time! Use what you have around the house. When you get into the swing of having healthy real food and planning your meals plus your pantry and fridge staples you come to find you often have a lot of the ingredients you need! Plus post Thanksgiving meals are all about using up all those wonderful ingredients so you can start again for Christmas dinner! I digress...

When you are done with all the stuff I talked about above mix it all together in a big bowl and stir it good! Then, pour it into a casserole dish. The last thing you need is a pastry to cover it with. I actually made my pastry first and set it aside.

1 cup whole wheat flour (you can use white, it is easier to work with but I my goal was a complete balanced meal so I wanted a whole grain)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of butter
1/4 cup of cold water

You know the drill. Flour and salt into the bowl. Stir. Next cut the butter in. One thing I have discovered when making a pastry shell with real butter is that it is easier to cut the butter into pea sized cubes and distribute them evenly throughout the bowl of flour. Just a thought. Also, make sure you cut it in with a fork really good - it makes it a lot easier to gather up, especially when working with whole wheat! Once your butter is cut in then you add the water and make the pastry into a ball. Roll out onto a floured surface. Make sure you roll it into a large rectangle that will fit your casserole dish! Cover the veggie and turkey mixture with the pastry and tuck the extra sides down.

Cute slits into the top of the crust and bake for about 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It is soooo good! Seriously try it. I will post pictures soon. Freya and I both had three helpings.