no kitty, that's my pot pie!

thanksgiving came. it conquered. it was super delicious. and it went. but not without a ton of leftovers. so instead of eating turkey and gravy for the next week (although there's nothing wrong with that), i decided to try making some turkey pot pies. that just sounded like such a great idea. and i need more excuses to break out my mini-pie maker. the green bean casserole i used is alton brown's best ever green bean casserole (they're not kidding when they say "best ever"!!), but since it was 2-day leftovers, it needed a little more sauce (especially since we were mixing in the yummy turkey). i had a disk of deliciously buttery pate brisee crust (martha stewart's recipe, of course!). that recipe makes enough for 2 pies, but i only made one pumpkin pie for thanksgiving dinner. the leftover disk was enough to make 4 mini-pies. of course you could use refrigerated pre-made pie crust, but this crust is so easy and delicious, it's definitely worth it to make your own crust.

turkey pot pies
leftover turkey (about 1.5-2 c), chopped
leftover green bean casserole (about 1.5-2 c), beans cut in half
1 tbs butter
1 tbs flour
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c half and half
1/2 c french fried onions
salt and pepper to taste
1 disk of pate brisee pie crust

in a pan, melt the butter, then add the flour, and cook for about a minute. mix in the chicken broth and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. add the half and half and stir occsaionally until it thickens (5-6 minutes). add french fried onions, turkey, casserole, and salt and pepper to taste.

preheat the pie maker while you roll out and cut your pie dough. put the larger round into pie maker, add ~1/3 c of the turkey mixture, and cover with the smaller round. cook for ~8 minutes, until crust looks golden and crisp. 

you can use a fork to eat it, but as my 2-year old demonstrated, it's more fun to just pick up the little pies with your hands and dig in!