Recipes: Waste not, want not

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 cups frozen peas and carrots

2 cups frozen green beans

1 cup sliced celery

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1 1/3 cups milk

4 cups cubed cooked turkey meat - light and dark meat mixed

4 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Place the peas and carrots, green beans, and celery into a saucepan; cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-low heat until the celery is tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander set in the sink, and set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2/3 cup of flour, salt, black pepper, celery seed, onion powder, and Italian seasoning; slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat; stir the cooked vegetables and turkey meat into the filling until well combined.

4. Fit 2 pie crusts into the bottom of 2 9-inch pie dishes. Spoon half the filling into each pie crust, then top each pie with another crust. Pinch and roll the top and bottom crusts together at the edge of each pie to seal, and cut several small slits into the top of the pies with a sharp knife to release steam.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. If the crusts are browning too quickly, cover the pies with aluminum foil after about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Best Bean and Ham Soup

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight

1 ham bone

2 1/2 cups cubed ham

1 large onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

5 large carrots, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice

3 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chili powder

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley

3 tablespoons lemon juice

7 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.

2. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

End of the Line Ham Casserole

Ingredients

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1/2 cup milk

Ground black pepper to taste

2 potatoes, sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 cups cooked ham, diced

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In an 8x8 inch casserole dish, combine cream of celery soup with milk and a good grind of pepper. Layer potato slices, onion slices and ham on top and cover. Bake for 1 hour. Remove cover and sprinkle with parmesan or other grated cheese. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Holiday Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and salt into a bowl.

3. Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Mix in honey, egg, and lemon zest until well blended. Fold in sweet potato. Stir in flour mixture with a large spoon until dough is just blended.

4. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until edges start to brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 10 minutes.