Thanksgiving Hangover Recipe: Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and I was put in charge of my very first turkey. Thanks to sage advice from the guru of Good Eats, Alton Brown, it was a great success thanks to a good overnight brine and properly thermal management. Since we did an 18-pound bird, we were left with a lot of leftovers and needed some ways to manage them. This is one of the two recipes I came up with.

Ingredients

• 4 cups leftover vegetables, fresh or cooked (we used carrot, celery, onion, and cooked green beans)
• 2 cups shredded or diced turkey
• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken or turkey broth or stock
• 3 cups mashed potatoes

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a saute pan and add in any fresh veggies first. Once those are cooked, add in any leftover cooked veggies and the turkey to warm them up.
2. Add the flour and cook until it has browned slightly. You’re making a roux at this stage.
3. Slowly add in the milk and broth, stirring the entire time. The first few additions will look like they’ve disappeared and a sauce will start to form once you get up to about 1/3 of the liquid.
4. Once the sauce thickens, transfer to a 9×13 pan (Pyrex is best) and spread out evenly. Use a rubber spatula to spread the mashed potatoes over the top in an even layer all the way to the edges.
5. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

You’re basically making a shepherd’s pie with whatever you have on hand. You could also top the casserole dish with some puff pastry instead of mashed potatoes and make a pot pie. It’s an easy and delicious way to put a new twist on those copious containers of leftovers.