Turkey Pot Pie

We've been having a serious cold snap here, so I figured some warm comfort food is just the thing to warm me up from the inside. This is a delicious dish and you can use up your leftover turkey from Christmas!

2 tbsps unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled & diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp thyme

salt & pepper to taste

3 1/2 cups shredded turkey (or chicken)

1/2 cup frozen corn or peas (whatever you have on hand)

1 tube of refrigerated biscuits

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir the flour into the veggie mix until veggies are coated. Gradually stir in the chicken broth, milk and thyme. Stir constantly until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and corn. Season with salt & pepper.

Pour this mixture into a greased 9x13 dish and bake 15 minutes at 400F. Then lay the refrigerated biscuits on top of the chicken mixture. Bake for another 15-17 minutes until the biscuits tops are golden brown. Let sit 5 minutes and then enjoy!

**Note: I took the easy way and used refrigerated biscuits. You could also make your own biscuits from scratch. **

*Adapted from http://damndelicious.net/2013/12/23/biscuit-pot-pie/

Pesto Turkey Burgers

Its almost the middle of December and I was craving a burger, so I made these delicious turkey burgers. I just fried them up in a frying pan on my stove, but these would be great on the BBQ in summer too. My picture doesn't really do them justice, but these burgers were full of flavour. I will definitely be making these again!

1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
2 tbsps basil pesto
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsps sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Mix together ground turkey, pesto, garlic, feta cheese, salt, bread crumbs and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl until evenly blended. Form into 4 patties.

Fry or grill over medium heat until cooked through.

Orzo with Roasted Peppers & Turkey

1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 lb orzo pasta
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
feta cheese

First thing is to roast the peppers. You can either do this by holding over a gas flame with tongs, turning occasionally until the skins are charred on all sides. Or you can roast the peppers in the oven under the broiler, which is what I did. Place whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil until charred. Occasionally turn peppers so all sides start turning black. Place the charred peppers in a medium bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam for 20 minutes. Remove from bowl and place on cutting board. Using a paring knife, peel away most of the skin. Its okay to leave some skin as it adds flavour. Remove the stem and seeds. Pat peppers dry with paper towel and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, water, and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking; in a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and saute until cooked through. Add the garlic and Italian seasonings and cook for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the turkey and pepper mixture, 1 tbsp of parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to combine all ingredients, adding reserved cooking liquid, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.