COOKING WITH CLORIS -- TURKEY POT PIE

Many people traditionally have open house parties on New Year’s Day. A staple of these events is a buffet which includes a turkey. If you’re like most of us, you bought too big a bird and now have turkey leftovers up the wazoo -- even after pressing doggie bags on your departing guests. Cloris is here today with a quick and easy solution to the too much turkey leftovers dilemma. -- AP

TURKEY POT PIE
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 deep dish frozen pastry shells
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
9 oz. package frozen boil-in-bag mixed vegetables in teriyaki sauce, thawed
6 frozen asparagus stalks, thawed
4 oz. can mushroom stems and pieces
1 small onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can turkey gravy

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop onion. Sauté in olive oil until golden brown. Set aside.

Cut asparagus into 1” pieces. Mix together turkey, mixed vegetables, asparagus, and onion. Pour into pie crust. Pour gravy over mixture.

Cover pie with second pie crust. Crimp edges. Poke holes in to crust.

Bake 40-50 minutes until crust turns golden brown.

Note: This recipe can also be made from scratch by replacing the frozen pie crust with pie crust you make yourself and using fresh vegetables instead of canned and frozen. If you go the made-from-scratch route, you’ll want to add some seasoning. Garlic, paprika, and celery salt would work well, or try soy or teriyaki sauce.

Well, I certainly didn’t have a New Year’s Day party this year, given dead louse of a spouse left me penniless and up the wazoo in debt (read ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN to learn why), but this sounds like a great dinner to use up chicken leftovers as well. Thanks, Cloris!

What about you, readers? Do you have any special ways you like to use up leftovers? Let’s hear from you. Post a comment to be entered in the drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author this week. -- AP

DECORATING WITH JEANIE -- EASY OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING

Here are some hints for great green outdoor entertaining this summer from our decorating editor Jeanie Sims: -- AP

The best way to entertain outdoors is one that keeps clean-up to a minimum, but paper goods are a huge expense and clog up our landfills. Instead, buy a set of plastic dishes, utensils, and beverage cups. You can find these at big box stores. Don’t skimp of the quality, though. You want to buy the good stuff that will hold up to repeated trips through the dishwasher. If you do a lot of outdoor entertaining over the summer, the service won’t cost you any more than you’d pay for paper goods throughout the season, and you’ll have them for seasons to come.

No place to store another set of dishes and beverage ware? No problem! After they’re washed, store them in your cooler.  Everything will be right at hand for your next barbeque.

Scatter oversized beach towels around the yard for guests to eat picnic style.  Instead of paper napkins, substitute inexpensive dish clothes from the dollar store. Just pop everything in the washing machine when the evening is over.

Finally, go for Christmas in June, July, and August by stringing up your holiday lights along your deck railing.

What sort of outdoor entertaining do you do? Let us know, and you could win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP