Lovely Leftovers

Leftovers, let me tell you: You’ve got an image problem. It starts with your name: Leftovers. You’re basically telling everyone that you are the food that no one had use for the first time around. How are you going to get anyone interested in you with a reputation like that?

The truth is, you’re still delicious, you just need a fresh new package to make yourself more appealing. That’s why, when it comes to Thanksgiving leftovers, we love ideas that put together the food in a way that looks nothing like what we all ate at the big feast the day before. So – a warmed up version of last night’s dinner? Not so good. Turkey tacos or turkey Pad Thai? Good.

For this year’s Thanksgiving leftovers, we’re packaging them up in this Turkey Shepherd’s Pie, which has a splash of color thanks to these Stokes Purple sweet potatoes from Frieda’s. It might just be pretty enough to serve for company. And if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s Thanksgiving, your guests might never even know that what they’re getting is…leftovers.

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped

1 1/2 cups roasted vegetables, chopped (add frozen vegetables if you don’t have enough left over)

1 cup turkey gravy

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1 1/2 cups mashed white potatoes (see note)

1 1/2 cups mashed purple sweet potatoes (see note)

Salt to taste

In a large saucepan, combine the turkey, vegetables, and gravy, and heat through until bubbly, stirring frequently to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn on the bottom. Meanwhile, preheat the oven  to 375 degrees. Grease a large pie plate and pour the turkey mixture into the pie pan.

Gently spoon the mashed potatoes into two different pastry bags (If you don’t have a pastry bag, put the mashed potatoes into a pastry bag, or else a plastic zip-close bag with a small hole cut out of the corner. Pipe the potatoes into little puffs, alternating colors across the pie.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly browned and the turkey mixture is bubbly.  Serve immediately. Serves 4. And if you have leftovers of THESE leftovers, you’re on your own.

Note: If you don’t already have leftover mashed potatoes, you can make your own. For the white potatoes in this recipe, we used 2 medium russet potatoes, boiled and peeled them, and then hand-mashed them with two tablespoons of butter.  For the purple potatoes, we roasted 3 medium Stokes Purple sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for 1 hour, peeled them, and then mashed them with 1 tablespoon of butter. 

Happy Thanksgiving!