Peeps® tucking in to their very own Turpeepin’ pie.

We had a loverly Thanksgiving. Thanks for asking. The Peeps® had a great time and enjoyed being the stars of the show. They especially enjoyed the Sweet Peeptatoes. We had a day of cooking, porking out, then watching the parade, football, and a movie (all in a tryptophan-enduced, bleary-eyed, and almost comatose state). For once the Peeps weren’t cutting it up in the kitchen — except for that incident with the wasp spray and the lighter.

But as in all things involving huge amounts of food, there is the left-over issue and the biggest dilemma is what to do with the bird. I love turkey sandwiches (on white bread (I’m a purist) with mayonnaise — I know this grosses some of you out, but so what — and some cranberry sauce). But sandwiches use up only part of the mountain of meat and I’m sick to death of turkey noodle soup. The Peeps have had it up to here as well — yah, they’re small so “up to here” isn’t very much.  So, what to do? What to do? Turpeepin’ Pot Pie is the answer. The Peeps love playing hide and seek so this is the perfect dish for them. I made the plural form of this dish in ramekins so the Peeps wouldn’t fight in the oven. They do better when they have their own space so I gave them each their own pie. This version is also more convenient if you freeze the finished product for future use — like when you want to take a nap.

Shhh. They’re inside. That’s why the pies are so lumpy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pkg frozen veggies. I used frozen peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. Then I threw in some fresh fingerling potatoes — but peas and carrots is the traditional pot pie sort of mix
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and pepper
• Leftover gravy or if you used it all up, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1-3/4 cups chicken broth, 2/3 cup milk, and 1/3 cup butter
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups cut-up, left-over turkey
• Pastry for a 2-crust pie. I suck at making pie crust so I buy the pre-made, but I’ve included the pie crust pastry below for those of you who don’t screw it up every time like I do.

Peeps playing in the veggie mix.

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat the oven to 425F
• Rinse the frozen veggies in cold water to separate them and let them drain. If you’re using potatoes like I did, cut them up into bite-sized bits. The Peeps love to play in the bowl with the vegetables, so let ’em have at it (see photo)
• If you have left-over gravy, heat it up on a big sauce pan. If you don’t have left-over gravy, melt the butter; stir in the flour, onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir constantly until the mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in the chicken broth and the milk. Put back on the heat and stir constantly until the mixture is boiling. Continue to stir for one minute.
• Throw in the veggies and turkey and remove from the heat
• Make the pastry (see below) or roll out the store-bought pie crusts.
• Cut out shapes that will fit into your ramekins or if you’re doing the singular version, line your pie pan
• Spoon in the mixture and place your peeps
• Cut out shapes that will fit the top of your ramekins or if you’re doing the singular version, enclose the top of the pie pan
• Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown

PIE CRUST

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp shortening
• 4 to 6 tbsp cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until it forms pea-sized bits. Sprinkle in the water, 1 tbsp at a time until all the flour is moistened. Gather the pastry into a ball. Shape into a flat round on a floured surface. Put in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes or so. Roll pasty on floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Use as directed above.