Some people do ham for Christmas, but I’ve always fancied turkey.  Just like with Thanksgiving, though, you always have the problem of what to do with all of the leftover turkey.  You want to use up the turkey, but turkey dinners, turkey sandwiches, and turkey salad can only get you so far.  Here are my simple offerings for cheap, easy ways to completely transform that turkey into a new dish that the entire family will enjoy.  Both of these recipes use 5 ingredients (not counting salt, pepper, and water).  Odds are that you have everything you need to toss together one of these dishes tonight!

 

Turkey Pot Pie

This really couldn’t be simpler.  I used 2 packages of powdered gravy mix and a bag of frozen soup mix (potatoes, carrots, peas, etc).  I prefer the brown gravy, but leftover turkey or chicken gravy works, too.  If you don’t have a pie crust, use a can of biscuits or a batch of baking mix to cover the gravy mix.  The best part has got to be the crust soaking up all of that gravy.  So cheap, but soooo tasty!

Ingredients

2 cups brown gravy, prepared
1-16 oz bag mixed frozen vegetables
2 cups chopped leftover turkey
salt and pepper to taste
1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix first 4 ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat and warm through for 5-10 minutes.  Pour into a greased, 9-inch, deep dish pie plate.  Cover the dish with the crust and fold the edges in.  Beat the egg with the water and brush over the crust

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

 

Turkey Enchilasagna

I wanted to make enchiladas, but it had been a long day and rolling everything up seemed like so much work.  We also didn’t have any enchilada sauce, but we always have tomato sauce and spices so I whipped some up using this easy Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce Recipe.  Layering a flat starch product with tomato sauce, meat, and cheese seemed too much like lasagna not to go with the corny little play on words.  Serving it up was actually much easier than enchiladas that I’ve made in the past, so this might start becoming a regular thing around here.

Ingredients

2 cups of Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
1 6-oz can black olives, chopped
1 can enchilada sauce
8 tortillas
2 cups chopped turkey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cheese and olives in a large bowl.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of sauce into the bottom of a round casserole.  Layer tortilla, 2-3 tablespoons of sauce, 3-4 tablespoons of turkey, and 3-4 tablespoons of cheese mixture.  Repeat 6 more times.  Top with tortilla, more sauce, and the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving with sour cream.

I hope you enjoy these dishes.  I know that I enjoyed making them and that my family loved eating them!  Leave us a comment and let us know what you do with your holiday leftovers.